1971-1980

This decade in the history of the State of Jordan was marked with difficult tasks. Although the Jordanian government had exerted every possible effort not to aggravate the security situation and to spare blood shed, the situation remained unsettled. Thus, the Jordan resolved to safeguard it sovereignty, by imposing control and establishing security by force. Its brave leadership, bold army and cautious citizens, enabled Jordan to establish control and restore security and stability, particularly after the withdrawal of Iraqi forces at the end of 1970. Agreements were reached that aimed to prevent Palestinian commandos from entering cities, despite the continued presence of some out-laws in these cities.

• In January 1971 large demonstrations swarmed Jordanian cities. The demonstrators proceeded to, and sealed off the offices of outlawed organisations. Demonstrators succeeded in controlling several bases and offices. A huge national pressure emerged to support the government's decisions and stands.
  
  
• Turbulence continued despite the conclusion of an agreement on 13 February 1971, followed by several other agreements. Jordanian forces pursued the task of protecting civilians and establishing security for several months, until negotiations were conducted to reach a peaceful solution in Jeddah; however, the negotiations ended on 27 November 1971 without reaching any concrete conclusion. By the end of 1971 the Jordanian security forces were able to control the country and re-establish security and stability.
  
  
• In Cairo, on 28 November 1971, at 3:30 p.m., Wasfi Al-Tal, the Prime Minister of Jordan, was assassinated. He went to Cairo to participate in a meeting of Arab ministers of defence. The assassination was carried out by a group of terrorists, who were taken into custody, but then released by a mock tribunal in Cairo.
  
  
• On 25 November 1971, His Majesty King Hussein, may God rest his soul in peace, inaugurated the first convention of the Jordanian National Union which represented the various sectors of the people. The union law was inspired from the constitution of Jordan and asserted national unity.
  
  
• On 15 March 1972, His Majesty King Hussein proposed the establishment of United Arab Kingdom, consisting of two regions: Jordan and Palestine, with Amman as its capital. This created strong reactions as the Palestinian National Council convened on 6 April 1972 in Cairo under the chairmanship of Anwar Sadat, delivered a speech announcing the severance of all relations between Egypt and Jordan.
  
  
• Jordan's attitudes and its procedures in maintaining its sovereignty, faced several campaigns and attempts targeting Jordanian figures abroad. On 15 October 1971, Zeid Al-Rifai, the Jordanian ambassador to England, suffered from injuries after an attempt to assassinate him, on 16 October 1971 the Jordanian diplomatic mission in Geneva was attacked resulting in damaging its building. Also, several attempts to hijack Jordanian planes were foiled.
  
  
• In spite of all the anti-Jordan attitudes and the damages inflicted upon the Kingdom, the General Military Governor issued an order on 10 May 1972 pardoning all civil and military citizens who had left the country for any reason whatsoever, regardless of their crimes. The order gave them two months to return to their homeland.
  
  
• On 6 October 1973, the October War broke out. Jordanian armed forces joined their Syrian counterparts in the fight in the Golan front. The Jordanian forces were engaged in two big battles on 16 and 19 October, where 24 soldiers were martyred. During that war, Jordan played a major role in defending the right flank of the Syrian front, as well as engaging Israeli forces all along the Jordanian front.
  
  
• Arab voices started to be heard demanding that Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) be given the right to represent the Palestinian people in the Peace Conference proposed by America and Russia. An Arab summit was held in Algeria to discuss this issue, but His Majesty King Hussein did not attend it and was represented by Mr. Bahjat Al-Talhouni, who was at the time Chief of the Royal Court. One of the summit's resolutions was taking a positive attitude towards the invitation to the Peace Conference and approving implementing the United Nations resolutions number 242- 338. The conference was held from 26 to 28 November 1973 and its resolution was calling for granting the PLO the right to represent the Palestinian people, which Jordan considered an intervention against its responsibilities towards the people in the two banks.
  
  
• The peace conference was held in Geneva on 21 October 1973. Jordan participated in the conference and presented a project for a solution consisting of six points stating that the international borders be recognised, security and stability be ensued and for Jerusalem to be a permanent constituent of Arab lands. Jordan also stressed on its refusal to any partial settlement.
  
  
• Jordan participated in the activities of the previous Arab summit held in Rabat on 26-29 November 1974. The conference centred mainly on recognising the PLO as a legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people. His Majesty King Hussein, may God rest his soul in peace, delivered a long speech that explained Jordan stances towards the Palestinian cause, and pointed out the consequences of recognising the PLO as the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people. As a result of Arab pressures, Jordan recognised the PLO as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people
  
  
• On 4 April 1972, a resolution concerning parliamentary life was issued to grant women the right to vote and nomination in elections. However, due to the political situation, the elections were postponed until 1989, when women participated for the first time as voters and candidates. However, no woman won these elections.
  
  
• Due to several political circumstances, parliamentary life in Jordan was the subject of much discussion during the period 1974-1976. On 16 March 1975, the Cabinet took a decision to postpone the elections and a reaffirmed postponement decision again on 3 March 1976. However, on the same day that the postponement decision was announced, a Royal Decree was issued calling Parliament to convene in order to amend Article 73 of the Constitution, which authorises the King to postpone elections for an indefinite period.
  
  
• On 15 April 1978, the National Advisory Council Law, which aimed at filling the constitutional gaps, was issued. Council aims were to give general consultation and advice to the executive council, discuss issues of general policies and study the laws and legislation enacted by the government. The National Advisory Council continued to perform its tasks through its three boards, and continued its mission during its three sessions from 1978 till 1984.

1981-1990

This era witnessed the return of parliamentary life, taking decisive political positions and paying more attention to domestic development and economic growth. A Royal Decree was issued calling the ninth parliament for an extraordinary session on 9 November 1984 to discuss amending the constitution. The parliament approved three amendments that gave His Majesty the right to reinstate the dissolved parliament, order to conduct the elections in half of the constituencies and that the House of Deputies undertakes measures to fill vacant seats, where elections cannot be held in the respective constituencies. Sub-parliamentary elections were conducted in the East Bank (half the number of constituencies) on 12 March 1984 to fill the vacant seats. When the House, internal elections were conducted to fill the eight vacant seats representing the West Bank. Amman hosted the 11th Arab summit Conference in Amman during the period 25-27 January 1980. His Majesty King Hussein delivered a speech at the opening ceremony in which he stressed that the “growing keenness on country-level interests at the expense of pan-Arab interests will lead to the rise of disputes.” One of the most significant decisions of the conference was launching a joint US$ 5 billion fund, the Arab Development Decade, which aim to accelerate development in the Arab countries in the coming 20 years. The period 1981-1982 witnessed heated controversies due to the contrastive views regarding the Iraqi-Iranian war, as well as clashes between the Palestinian resistance and Lebanese authorities. In all its stands, Jordan was keen on having its mind fixed on achieving reconciliation and rejecting violence. But, it stood firmly with Iraq against Iran. Jordan was the first country that offered help to the PLO after the Palestinian factions left Lebanon. His Majesty King Hussein delegated the Royal Court Chief, Bahjat Al-Talhouni, and the minister of foreign affairs, Marwan Al-Qassem, to Athens on 3 September 1982 to meet Yasser Arafat to formulate a joint Jordanian-Palestinian move within the context of Fas conference resolutions and Regan's proposals. However, the PLO did not agree in any of the Palestinian National Council meetings to any idea that aimed at re-establishing coordination with Jordan. In an official statement issued on 10 April 1983, Jordan stressed on its respect of the independent Palestinian decision as well as the discussions taken by the executive committee of the Palestinian National Council in Kuwait. The statement indicated that Jordan would give the organisation and the Palestinian people the freedom to choose their own track themselves. His Majesty King Hussein, may God rest his soul in peace, participated in Fez summit that was held in two rounds: the first on 25 November 1981, the second from 6-9 September 1982. The conference laid down the Arab peace project, which took the project of the U.S. President Ronald Regan into consideration. The five-point Arab initiative called for the following: a) Israeli withdrawal from all territories occupied before 1967, b) dismantling all settlements in the West Bank, c) accepting the PLO as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, d) establishing an independent Palestinian state, and e) providing sufficient Security Council guarantees to achieve these points. A seven-member Arab committee, chaired by His Majesty King Hussein, emerged from the Fez conference. During 1982-1983, the committee went on a wide-ranging tour of several countries in order to explain the Arab stand vis-a-vis the peace process. The executive committee of PLO requested that the Palestinian National Council round be held in Amman. The request was approved and His Majesty inaugurated the meeting on 22 November 1984, and delivered a speech confirming the desire to work together in order to achieve a just peace. His Majesty envisaged Palestinian-Jordanian initiative based on the principles of adhering to the Security Council resolution, the principle of land for peace as well as conducting negotiations through an international peace conference. The entire members of the Palestinian National Council participated in the conference in Amman, although most of them had committed crimes against Jordan and were wanted for justice, such as Abu-Da'oud and Salah Khalaf, the leader of Black September Organisation, Jamal Al-Sourani and others. The joint central committee of the Palestinian National Council approved the Jordanian proposals. President Arafat paid a visit to Jordan and signed an accord on 11 February 1985 known as the 11th February Accord for joint move. It consisted of five articles that stated the principles of land for peace and solving the refugees' problem and the Palestinian cause from its all aspects. During Casablanca summit in August 1985, His Majesty King Hussein and president Arafat explained the purposes of the 11th February Accord and the joint working style that is meant to be followed to the Arab leaders. Subsequently, His Majesty exerted a diplomatic effort to earn international support to this project; thus, he visited the United States and met the American President, Reagan. His Majesty confirmed that the Arabs approved the UN resolutions number 242 and 338 as a formula to reach at a peaceful solution within the context of an international conference. After the United States approval His Majesty asked PLO to provide him with the names of seven persons in order to participate in a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegate. Nevertheless, America refused five persons of them. After that, the American response stated that conducting the meeting was not possible. His Majesty King Hussein, may God rest his soul in peace, continued his endeavours to achieve the just rights of the Palestinian people. In 1986, His Majesty left for America for medication where he met American delegates. The result was gaining the American approval to hold an international conference and to accept the participation of the PLO, provided that the latter would approve resolution 242. Yet, the PLO changed its opinion and thus aborted all exerted efforts. Consequently, His Majesty delivered a prolonged speech on 19 February 1986, where he illustrated in detail the events taking place, and said: “with the organisation refusal, it had wasted a precious historical chance that might have led to the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied land”. His Majesty added that he refused this confusion and that political co-ordination with PLO could not be pursued unless the latter would respect its commitment, credibility and confirmation. The PLO broadcast a statement from Tunis on 8 March 1986, in which it replied to His Majesty's speech, attacked Jordan and its honourable stands, and levied many accusations against the Kingdom. Thus, Jordan published the whole statement so that all the Jordanians would realise what others said, and this was from the point of view of trusting the people's awareness of realising all the facts. His Majesty King Hussein, may God rest his soul in peace, conducted a tour all over the kingdom's governorates. He met with the people and explained to them the real situation in order to make each and everyone realise what was going on, particularly those who dealt with the communications and the meetings with the Palestinian side that led no where, due to the fluctuations of different Palestinian points of view. The Government went ahead with a five-year development plan (1986-1990) for the West Bank in order to develop the area while under occupation. This decision was taken despite all events and pressing attitudes, calling for separating Jordan from the West Bank and preventing the Kingdom from playing its role despite the poor coordination with the PLO caused by its hesitant stands. Moreover, the Minister of Planning announced on 16 September 1986 the allocation of JD 362.5 million for this plan. Amman witnessed the conference of the 14th Arab Summit Conference from 8 to 11 January 1987; it was known as 'solidarity and accord'. His Majesty chaired the conference which took several decisions including re-establishing Arab relations with Egypt, reconciliation between Jordan and the PLO, discussing the conditions in Lebanon, supporting Saudi measures in maintaining and controlling security during the pilgrimage season, as well as supporting Iraq in its war against Iran. Jordan supported the Palestinians in their first Intifada, which broke out on 9 October 1987. Various donation committees were formed to support the Intifada, and they collected JD 8.034.189, which was sent to the citizens of the occupied land. Jordan supported Iraq strongly and firmly in its war against Iran from 1980 to 1988. Jordan's support was manifested by opening Aqaba port to receive all aid to Iraqi, weapons and imports. On another front, Jordanian Al Yarmouk forces were formed and despatched to participate on the fighting frontiers of Iraq. On 31 July 1988, His Majesty delivered a comprehensive speech to the nation in which he announced the legal and administrative disengagement with the West Bank. He stressed that the decision was taken after the failure of all attempts to avoid adopting such a measure. He also stressed that he had tried to convince the P?LO that recognising that organisation as a sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people would make the Palestinian cause loose its international dimension and would, thus, lead to confusion in the procedures. His Majesty warned of the consequences of this decision, and that the Palestinian cause and the Palestinians would pay for it in the future. Jordanian government took different measures within the context of disengagement. The most important of which was the resolution of the cabinet that considers every one who lived in the West Bank before 31 July 1988 a Palestinian, accordingly they would be granted temporary 2-year passports. The PLO welcomed the Jordanian resolutions. President Yasser Arafat, accompanied by the Egyptian President Husny Mubarak, paid a visit to Jordan on 22 January 1988. After a working meeting that covered different issues, the PLO decided to accept United Nation resolutions 242 and 338, condemned terrorism, recognised the Israeli existence, and presented a Palestinian peace initiative. Thus, it adopted all the decisions, which Jordan had demanded of the PLO. On 7 November 1989, the Jordanian government decided to consider the office of the PLO in Amman an embassy to the state of Palestine. President Arafat attended the celebration of raising the Palestinian flag over the embassy. In a speech he delivered on the occasion, the Palestinian President said, “Palestine is an integral part of the Jordanian family.” Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Yemen agreed to establish the "Arab Cooperation Council," an economic entity aimed at invigorating trade among these countries, liberating the different restrictions and realising integration in the fields of industry, finance, economy and transportation. In 1990, a new era aiming at deepening and cementing democracy, responsible freedom, launching public freedom, keeping public property, combating corruption and freezing martial laws began. The government announced in January 1990 some procedures, including putting an end to general intelligence recommendation regarding employment in the public sectors, releasing confiscated passports, reinstating employees dismissed for political reasons, and abolishing the anti-communism law. On 9 April 1990, a Royal Commission was formed to draft a National Charter. Commission members convened and drafted the Charter that called for pooling the efforts of all sectors to work under the umbrella of one homeland. The Royal commission concluded formulating the National Charter on 31 December 1990 and was officially published on that day. It highlights the application of law sovereignty and enhancing the democratic march based on political plurality. The charter also stated that pan-Arab nationalism is the nation's identity and Islam is the ideology of the Arab nation. The charter confirmed that intellectual partisan and political plurality is the means to qualify for democracy and realise participation in running the affairs of the State         1991-7 February 1999 The last decade of the twentieth century began with tense events. The second Gulf war broke out where the United States of America led a huge coalition against Iraq. However, Jordan had its own clear vision stated in a White Book pointing its stand regarding this crises; Jordan called for containing this crises on an Arab scale, and demanded that president Saddam Hussein withdraw immediately from Kuwait. In the mean time, Jordan maintained its point of view that Iraq had the right to defend itself. One of the economic issues that constituted a huge challenge for Jordan was its large debt. In 1991, Jordan's debts amounted to US$ 9 billion, which is considerably high in comparison with the annual budget and income. To remedy the situation, the government adopted an economic reform program, which realised tangible success as debts dropped to billion. When Jordan started its peace process steps, Bill Clinton, the American president, pledged to cancel Jordanian debts over a period of three years. The American government reached a decision on 5 July 1995 to cancel the amount of JD 700 millions due to be paid by Jordan. The Political Parties Law was issued in August 1992 to regulate the activities of political parties and control procedures and terms of registration of such groups. The Law opened the door for all Jordanians to form parties as per this law and in accordance with the constitution. The second Gulf War resulted in weakening Arab relations particularly between Jordan and several Arab states. However, after four years normal relations were restored when the Jordanian minister for foreign affairs declared in July 1995 the start of dialogue to resolve disagreements with Saudi Arabia. The American president, George Bush, launched a new peace initiative on 6 March 1991 based on four points: trading land for peace, conducting joint security accords, recognising Israel, and preserving the legal political rights of the Palestinian people. Soon after, talks about an international peace conference started. Jordan decided to participate in the conference as King Hussein delivered a speech before a national Jordanian meeting on 12 October 1991declaring his approval to participate in the conference, which was then opened in Madrid on 30 October 1991. Peace negotiations were transferred to Washington where Jordan provided all possible assistance for the Palestinian delegation and exerted all possible efforts to separate the Palestinian course of delegation, from the Jordanian one so that the former would be an independent party and an official negotiator representing their state and people. Jordan succeeded in concluding agreements pertaining to water and land, which culminated in signing a peace accord in Wadi Araba between Israel and Jordan on 26 October 1994. President Bell Clinton, King Hussein, the Israeli president and the Israeli Prime Minister attended the celebration. On 25 October 1994, His Majesty King Hussein delivered a comprehensive speech pointing out that the Israeli-Jordanian treaty aimed at realising security and stability in the region and that Jordan would not disclaim its national duties. He added that Jordan always paid the price and never turned its back, but that others did. On 6 November 1994, the House of Deputies voted for the Israeli-Jordanian treaty by a majority of 55 votes out of 80. In the same evening, a Royal Decree was issued to endorse the treaty with Israel. Due to the distinguished international reputation of Jordan, the UN decided to seek help from Jordanian forces to maintain peace in the world. The first task started in August 1992 and the number of Jordanian forces participating in maintaining peace amounted to 3614 soldiers towards the end of 1994. In September 1998, His Majesty left for Mayo Clinic for medication. He underwent intensive care to eradicate cancer. His Majesty returned home on 22 December 1998. He then decided to designate His Highness Prince Abdullah bin Al-Hussein Crown Prince on 24 December 1999. However, His Majesty returned to Mayo Clinic due to his critical health conditions. He stayed there for several days but returned home to lay to rest, on 7 February 1999. King Abdullah II succeeded him to the thrown and assumed his constitutional authorities on that day. A dignified and solemn funeral was arranged for the late king, considered by all observers to be the funeral of the century, where the leaders of the world representing their countries attended the funeral procession paying tribute to the great man, whose distinguished statesmanship, rendered his country elevated status and high respect.