title: Al Green

text: In high school, Al formed a vocal group called Al Greene & the Creations. Two of the group's members, Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James, formed an independent label called Hot Line Music Journal. In 1968, having changed their name to Al Greene & the Soul Mates, they recorded the song "Back Up Train", releasing it on Hot Line Music. The song was a hit on the R&B charts and peaked at No. 46 in the "Cashbox" Top 100. However, the group's subsequent follow-ups failed to chart, as did their debut album "Back Up Train". While performing with the Soul Mates, Green came into contact with Memphis record producer Willie Mitchell, who hired him in 1969 to be a vocalist for a Texas show with Mitchell's band. Following the performance, Mitchell asked Green to sign with his Hi Records label.


title: Al Green

text: Having noted that Green had been trying to sing like Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, and James Brown, Mitchell became his vocal mentor, coaching him into finding his own voice. Before releasing his first album with Hi, Green removed the final "e" from his name. Subsequently, he released "Green Is Blues" (1969), which was a moderate success. His follow-up album, "Al Green Gets Next to You" (1971), featured the hit R&B cover of the Temptations' "I Can't Get Next to You", recorded in a slow blues-oriented version. The album also featured his first significant hit, "Tired of Being Alone", which sold a million copies and was certified gold, becoming the first of eight gold singles Green would release between 1971 and 1974.


title: Al Green

text: Green's next album, "Let's Stay Together" (January 1972), solidified his place in soul music. The title track was his biggest hit to date, reaching No. one on both the "Billboard" Hot 100 and R&B charts. The album became his first to be certified gold. His follow-up, "I'm Still in Love with You" (October 1972) went platinum with the help of the singles "Look What You Done for Me" and the title track, both of which went to the top 10 on the Hot 100. His next album, "Call Me" (April 1973) produced three top-10 singles: "You Ought to Be with Me", "Call Me (Come Back Home)", and "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)". In addition to these hit singles, Green also had radio hits with songs such as "Love and Happiness", his cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Simply Beautiful", "What a Wonderful Thing Love Is", and "Take Me to the River", later covered successfully by new wave band Talking Heads and blues artist Syl Johnson.


title: Al Green

text: Green's album "Livin' for You" (December 1973) was certified gold. He continued to record successful R&B hits in the next several years including "Livin' for You", "Sha-La-La (Makes Me Happy)" from his album "Al Green Explores Your Mind," "Let's Get Married", "L-O-V-E (Love)" and "Full of Fire".


title: Al Green

text: By the time Green released the album, "The Belle Album" in 1977, however, Green's record sales had plummeted, partially due to Green's own personal issues during this time and his desire to become a minister. His last Hi Records album, "Truth n' Time", was released in 1978 and failed to become a success.


title: Al Green

text: Continuing to record R&B, Green saw his sales start to slip and drew mixed reviews from critics. In 1979, he injured himself falling off the stage while performing in Cincinnati and took this as a message from God. He then concentrated his energies towards pastoring his church and gospel music.


title: Al Green

text: From 1981 to 1989 Green recorded a series of gospel albums. While still under contract with Hi Records, Green released the 1980 album, "The Lord Will Make a Way", his first of six albums on the Christian label Myrrh Records. The title song from the album would later win Green his first of eight Grammy Awards in the Best Soul Gospel Performance category. In 1982, Green co-starred with Patti LaBelle in the Broadway play, "Your Arms Too Short to Box with God". In 1984, director Robert Mugge released a documentary film, "Gospel According to Al Green", including interviews about his life and footage from his church. In 1985, he reunited with Willie Mitchell along with Angelo Earl for "He Is the Light", his first album for A&M Records. His 1987 follow-up, "Soul Survivor", featured the minor hit, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", which reached No. 22 on the "Billboard" R&B chart, his first top-40 R&B hit since "I Feel Good" in 1978.


title: Al Green

text: Green returned to secular music in 1988 recording "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" with Annie Lennox. Featured on the soundtrack to the movie "Scrooged", the song became Green's first top-10 pop hit since 1974. Green had a hit in 1989 with "The Message is Love" with producer Arthur Baker. Two years later, he recorded the theme song to the short-lived show "Good Sports". In 1993, he signed with RCA and with Baker again as producer, released the album, "Don't Look Back". Green received his ninth Grammy award for his collaboration with Lyle Lovett for their duet of "Funny How Time Slips Away". Green's 1995 album, "Your Heart's In Good Hands", was released around the time that Green was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The one single released from the album, "Keep On Pushing Love", was described as "invoking the original, sparse sound of his [Green's] early classics".


title: Al Green

text: In 2000, Green released his autobiography, "Take Me to the River". Two years later, he earned the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and recorded a hit R&B duet with Ann Nesby on the song, "Put It On Paper". Green again reunited with Willie Mitchell in 2003 for the album, "I Can't Stop". A year later, Green re-recorded his previous song, "Simply Beautiful", with Queen Latifah on the latter's album, "The Dana Owens Album". In 2005, Green and Mitchell collaborated on "Everything's OK".


title: Al Green

text: Green's 2008 album, "Lay It Down", was produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and James Poyser. It became his first album to reach the top 10 since the early 1970s. The album featured a minor R&B hit with the ballad, "Stay with Me (By the Sea)", featuring John Legend and also featuring duets with Anthony Hamilton and Corinne Bailey Rae. During an interview for promotion of the album, Green admitted that he would have liked to duet with Marvin Gaye: "In those days, people didn't sing together like they do now."


title: Al Green

text: In 2009, Green recorded "People Get Ready" with Heather Headley on the album, "". In 2010, Green performed "Let's Stay Together" on "Later... with Jools Holland". On September 13, 2018, Al Green released his first new recording in almost over ten years, "Before the Next Teardrop Falls", most famously recorded by Freddy Fender in 1975. It was produced by Matt Ross-Spang and is part of Amazon Music's new "Produced By" series.


title: Al Green

text: On October 18, 1974, Green's girlfriend, Mary Woodson, assaulted him and then died by suicide at his Memphis home. Although unbeknownst to Green she was already married with three children, Woodson became upset when Green refused to marry her. She doused him with a pot of boiling grits as he was preparing for bed in the bathroom, causing second-degree burns on his back, stomach, and arms which required skin grafts. Shortly after, Woodson fatally shot herself with his .38 handgun. Police found an apparent suicide note inside Woodson's purse that declared her intentions and her reasons. A few days prior, Green had sent Woodson to convalesce at the home of his friend after she had taken a handful of sleeping pills and slit her wrists. Green cited this incident as a wake-up call to change his life.


title: Al Green

text: Days after Green was released from Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis, where he was treated for his burns, he was reportedly held hostage at gunpoint by his cousin, who claimed he owed her money. Green refused to press charges.


title: Al Green

text: In 1976, Green established the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis. Green resides and preaches in Memphis, near Graceland. He is a member of the Prince Hall Masons, the African-American wing of Freemasonry, at the Thirty-Third Degree.


title: Al Green

text: In September 2013, Green's sister Maxine Green was reported missing from her assisted living home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. According to her daughter Lasha, Green has not reached out to the family about his sister. As of March 2020, she is still missing.


title: Al Green

text: On June 15, 1977, Green married his first wife Shirley Green (née Kyles) in Memphis. Originally from Chicago, she was one of his backing vocalists and an employee at his church. Together they have three daughters. Shirley first filed for divorce in 1978 on the ground of cruelty and irreconcilable differences. She filed again in 1981, charging that Green had subjected her to domestic violence throughout their marriage. Green accused her of cruel and inhuman treatment in a countercomplaint. In a sworn deposition in 1982 as part of her divorce filing, Shirley testified that in 1978 while she was five months pregnant, Green beat her with a boot for refusing to have sex. She claimed that the assault resulted in head wounds, one of which required stitches. After the incident she filed for divorce, but they reconciled. According to Shirley, they separated several times when the beatings became "too frequent and too severe". Initially, Green denied beating his wife, but under oath in 1982 he admitted to striking her. Their divorce was finalized in February 1983. Green agreed to pay her $432,800 in alimony and child support. In 1995, the story of Nicole Brown Simpson inspired Shirley to go public with the abuse she endured in order to help other victims.


title: Al Green

text: Green has seven children: three sons, Chris Burse Sr., Al Green Jr., and Trevor, plus four daughters, Alva Lei, Rubi Renee, Kora Kishe (with Shirley Green), and Kala.


title: Al Green

text: Green's former secretary, Linda Wills, filed a $25,000 civil suit against him in 1974. Wills charged that Green beat her and shoved her through a glass door in his Memphis office after a dispute about how much back pay she was entitled to for her duties. The civil suit was dropped because of "conflicting testimony", but in 1975 they settled a $100,000 lawsuit for assault and battery charges.


title: Al Green

text: In 1977, Green and his former organ player Larry Robinson were arrested for assault on Memorial Day in Irving, Texas. According to Robinson, Green and his bodyguards jumped him when he confronted Green about owed money from previous gigs. They both posted bond on a misdemeanor charge.


title: Al Green

text: In 1978, Green was charged with assault and battery for allegedly beating Lovie Smith unconscious with a tree limb. The charges were dismissed after Smith, who had moved, did not receive a subpoena and therefore missed the court date.


title: Al Green

text: Green has been nominated for 21 Grammy Awards, winning 11, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Two of his songs, "Let's Stay Together" and "Take Me To the River" have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.


title: Al Green

text: Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2004, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame. That same year, he was inducted into The Songwriters Hall of Fame. Also in 2004, "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked him No. 65 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 BET Awards on June 24, 2009.


title: Al Green

text: On August 26, 2004, Green was honored as a BMI Icon at the annual BMI Urban Awards. He joined a list of previous Icon honorees that included R&B legends James Brown, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Bo Diddley. Green was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2009. He was recognized on December 7, 2014, as a Kennedy Center Honors recipient.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis, and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having lost his family and been recently fired, has decided to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. He loads a supply of liquor and beer into his BMW and gets drunk as he drives from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Once there, he develops a romantic relationship with a sex worker played by Elisabeth Shue and the film shifts to include her narrative perspective. O'Brien died from suicide after signing away the film rights to the novel.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: "Leaving Las Vegas" was filmed in super 16 mm instead of 35 mm film; while 16 mm was common for art house films at the time, 35 mm is most commonly used for mainstream film. After limited release in the United States on October 27, 1995, "Leaving Las Vegas" was released nationwide on February 9, 1996, receiving strong praise from critics and audiences. Cage received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Shue was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: Ben Sanderson is an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who has lost his job, family, and friends. With nothing left to live for, and a sizable severance check from his boss, he heads to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. One early morning, he drives drunkenly from his Los Angeles home down to the Las Vegas Strip; he nearly hits a woman, Sera, on the crosswalk. She chastises him and walks away.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: Sera is a prostitute working for abusive Latvian pimp Yuri Butsov. Polish mobsters are after Yuri, so he ends his relationship with Sera in fear that the Poles may hurt her. On his second day in Las Vegas, Ben looks for Sera, introduces himself, and offers her $500 to come to his room for an hour. Sera agrees, but Ben does not want sex. Instead, they talk and develop a rapport; Sera invites Ben to move into her apartment. Ben instructs Sera never to ask him to stop drinking. Ben says he will not criticize her occupation either, and she thanks him.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: At first, the pair are happy but soon become frustrated with the other's behavior. Sera begs Ben to see a doctor, which he refuses. While Sera is working, Ben goes to a casino and returns with another prostitute. Sera returns to find them in her bed and throws Ben out. Shortly afterward, Sera is approached by three college students at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. She initially rejects their offer by stating that she only "dates" one at a time but eventually acquiesces when she is offered an increased price. When she enters their hotel room, the students change the deal and demand anal sex, which she refuses. When she attempts to leave, they violently gang-rape her.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: The following day, Sera is spotted by her landlady returning home bruised and is evicted. Sera receives a call from Ben, who is on his deathbed. Sera visits Ben, and the two make love, and he dies shortly thereafter. Later, Sera explains to her therapist that she accepted Ben for who he was and loved him.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: Mike Figgis based "Leaving Las Vegas" on a 1990 autobiographical novel by John O'Brien, who died of suicide in April 1994, shortly after finding out his novel was being used as the basis for a film. Despite basing most of his screenplay on O'Brien's novel, Figgis spoke of a personal attachment with the novel, stating "Anything I would do would be because I had a sympathetic feeling towards it. That's why I did "Mr. Jones", because I think manic-depression is a fascinating, sad, and amazing phenomenon. It's not a coincidence that some of the greatest artists have been manic-depressives. That made it, to me, a fascinating subject that, alas, did not come out in the film."


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: Figgis encouraged the lead actors to experience their characters' ordeals first-hand by extensive research. He told "Film Critic": "It was just a week and a half of rehearsal. A lot of conversations. A lot of communication in the year before we made the film. Reading the book. I encouraged them [Cage and Shue] to do their own research, which they wanted to do anyway, and then ultimately the three of us got together and just started talking...talking about anything, not necessarily about the film or the script, about anything that came up." Cage researched by binge drinking in Dublin for two weeks and had a friend videotape him so he could study his speech. He also visited hospitalized career alcoholics. He said "it was one of the most enjoyable pieces of research I've ever had to do for a part." Shue spent time interviewing several Las Vegas prostitutes.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: The limited budget dictated the production and Figgis ended up filming in super 16mm and composing his own score. He said "We didn't have any money, and we weren't pretending to be something we weren't. We couldn't shut down The Strip to shoot". Cage recounted that he found the use of 16mm liberating as an actor stating in a 1995 interview with Roger Ebert:


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: Figgis had problems because permits were not issued for some street scenes. This caused him to film some scenes on the Las Vegas strip in one take to avoid the police, which Figgis said benefited production and the authenticity of the acting, remarking "I've always hated the convention of shooting on a street, and then having to stop the traffic, and then having to tell the actors, 'Well, there's meant to be traffic here, so you're going to have to shout.' And they're shouting, but it's quiet and they feel really stupid, because it's unnatural. You put them up against a couple of trucks, with it all happening around them, and their voices become great". Filming took place over 28 days.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: "Leaving Las Vegas" had a limited release on October 27, 1995. As it won awards from multiple film critics’ organizations and earned four Academy Award nominations, the film's release was expanded and it ultimately opened nationwide on February 9, 1996. United Artists distributed the film in North America, while RCV Film Distribution and Atalanta Filmes handled the European release, and 21st Century Film Corporation distributed the film in Australia. MGM/UA reportedly spent less than $2 million marketing the film, which included TV spots and ads in industry publications.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: The film was a success at the box office, particularly considering its budget, grossing $49.8 million. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 91% based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Oscar-awarded Nicolas Cage finds humanity in his character as it bleeds away in this no frills, exhilaratingly dark portrait of destruction." It also holds a score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Roger Ebert from "Chicago Sun-Times" and Rick Groen from "The Globe and Mail" gave the film high marks. Ebert wrote, "If there are two unplayable roles in the stock repertory, they are the drunk and the whore with a heart of gold. Cage and Shue make these cliches into unforgettable people." Ebert named the film "best of 1995" and included it in his "best of the decade" list in the number 8 spot. Leonard Klady from "Variety" wrote "Leaving Las Vegas" was "certainly among a scant handful of films that have taken an unflinching view of dependency."


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: Video cassettes and DVD of the film were distributed by MGM Home Entertainment. The video cassettes were distributed on November 12, 1996 in two languages, English and Russian, while the DVD was distributed on January 1, 1998 in English for USA and Canada. Australian and UK editions later were released. The DVD contains a supplemental "Hidden Page" menu feature. The film was also released on Blu-ray, HD DVD and LaserDisc.


title: Leaving Las Vegas

text: A soundtrack album, consisting mainly of film score composed and performed by Mike Figgis, was released November 7, 1995. The soundtrack also included three jazz standards performed by Sting and excerpts of dialogue from the film. A version of "Lonely Teardrops" performed by Michael McDonald that features in the film is not included.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The sixth generation of the BMW 5 Series consists of the BMW F10 (sedan version), BMW F11 (wagon version, marketed as "Touring") and BMW F07 (fastback version, marketed as "Gran Turismo") executive cars and were produced by BMW from January 2010 (for the 2011 model year) to 2017, with F10 being launched on 20 March 2010 to domestic market and F11 in the summer of 2010. The F07 Gran Turismo was produced from early September 2009 to 2017, being launched in the domestic German market in late October 2009.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The "Gran Turismo" version is the first and only 5 Series to be produced in a fastback body style. The F10 generation is also the first 5 Series to offer a hybrid drivetrain, a turbocharged V8 engine, an 8-speed automatic transmission, a dual-clutch transmission (in the M5), active rear-wheel steering (called "Integral Active Steering"), electric power steering, double-wishbone front suspension, an LCD instrument cluster (called "Black Panel Display") and automatic parking (called "Parking Assistant"). A long-wheelbase sedan version (model code F18) was sold in China, Mexico and the Middle East.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The M5 model, introduced in 2011, is powered by the BMW S63 twin-turbocharged V8 engine coupled to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission. It is the first M5 to use a turbocharged engine.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: From November 2005 to December 2006, the exterior was designed by Jacek Fröhlich under the leadership of BMW Group Design Director Adrian van Hooydonk. The Touring version was designed by Jean-Francois Alexandre Huet. While the Gran Turismo version was designed by Christopher Weil.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The sedan was the second body style to be launched. It was unveiled at the Munich Olympic Stadium on November 23, 2009 and production began in January 2010. The sedan models have a length of .


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The 5 Series Gran Turismo is a 5-door fastback body style which began production in September 2009. It has a length of and is longer and taller than the 5 Series Sedan/Touring models and has a hatchback rear door. The tailgate has a unique two-way opening mechanism, which may be opened in a traditional car-like fashion, or the entire hatch may be open in a traditional SUV fashion for larger objects. The 5 Series GT features frameless doors, which is a first for a four-door BMW model.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: Although sold as part of the 5 Series range, is suggested that the Gran Turismo chassis has more in common with the F01 7 Series, Due to its tall proportions, the F07 has been described as a "7 Series hatchback". It has a wheelbase of , a front track width of and a rear track width of . When combined with the raised roofline, this results in more passenger and luggage space than the E61 5 Series wagon/estate and similar headroom to the E70 X5 and F01 7 Series. The cargo capacity is with the seats raised, or with the rear seats flat and the partition stowed. All F07 models use an 8-speed automatic transmission.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The 5 Series GT was introduced as the "BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo" at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show and the production version was unveiled at the 2009 International Motor Show Germany in Frankfurt and sales began in the fourth quarter of 2009. In most countries, the 5 Series GT was sold along with previous generation E60/E61 5 Series sedan and wagon/estate models, therefore the 5 Series GT was the first model of the F10/F11/F07 generation to be launched. The F07 535i GT was the first model to use the N55 turbocharged straight-six engine, which replaced the N54. Sales of all-wheel drive ("xDrive") models began in June 2010.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: For the following G30 generation, the Gran Turismo models were moved to the 6 Series model range and renamed the G32 6 Series Gran Turismo.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: A long wheelbase (LWB) version of the BMW 5 Series Sedan was developed for the Chinese market, as a lower cost alternative to the 7 Series. The wheelbase of the F18 is extended by over the standard 5 Series sedan, resulting in an overall length of .


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The F10 uses a more traditional BMW exterior styling approach compared with the controversial styling of its E60 5 Series predecessor. The "Bangle butt" is removed, a Hofmeister kink is present, a traditional kidney grill is used and crease lines are used on the bonnet (similar to the E39 5 Series and earlier generations). Reviews of the styling have ranged from slightly bland, to handsome and muscular.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The interior features an updated iDrive system and a increase in rear knee-room for rear passengers. The F10 saw the return of the centre console being angled towards the driver, as used on the 5 Series from 1981 to 2003.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The equipment available on the F10 includes regenerative braking, a driving mode selector ("Dynamic Drive Control" with Comfort, Normal, Sport and Sport+ modes, an 80 GB hard disc for navigation data and music storage,


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: Head-Up Display, radar cruise control which can completely stop the car and accelerate from a standstill ("Active Cruise Control with Stop and Go"), blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning system, night vision rear-wheel steering ("Integral Active Steering"), side-facing cameras in the front bumper ("Sideview"), a virtual overhead graphic of the car to assist with parking ("Topview") and speed limit display, which uses a camera to recognise street signs and display the speed limit.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The full set of M Performance parts can be fitted to all Models with the M sport trim. These include blacked out grilles, a carbon fibre splitter, spoiler for touring models, carbon fibre mirrors, side skirts only for M Sport models and an M Performance silencer for 535i models.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: In Europe, the naturally aspirated six-cylinder models used the direct-injection BMW N53 engine, however many countries outside Europe continued to use the older BMW N52 engine instead, due to high sulfur levels in the locally available petrol. In Greece and Turkey, the 520i model used the 1.6 litre version of the BMW N20 four-cylinder engine, which produced at 5,000 rpm and at 1,500–4,700 rpm.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: For the 530d model, an "M Performance Kit" was offered in some markets, which increased power to and torque to .


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: Transmission options for the model range (excluding the M5) were a 6-speed manual or an 8-speed ZF 8HP automatic. The M5 uses a 7-speed dual clutch transmission (with a 6-speed manual also being available in the United States and Canada).


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The F10 uses the same platform as the F01 7 Series. Front suspension is double wishbone with double-pivot lower arms (previous 5 Series generations used Macpherson struts). Rear suspension is a multi-link design with 5 links called "Integral V".


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: Most suspension components are made from aluminium. The chassis is constructed from various grades of steel and the body is 55% stiffer than its E60 predecessor. Compared with the aluminium front structure used by the E60, the F10's steel components are heavier but cheaper to produce and repair. To reduce weight, the bonnet, front fenders and doors are made from aluminium.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The rear-wheel drive version of the 2011 535i has a rollover risk of 9.3% and a 5 of 5 stars overall safety rating.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The M5 model of the F10 generation was initially powered by a version of the BMW S63 twin-turbocharged V8 engine rated at at 6,000 – 7,000 rpm and a maximum torque of from 1,500 – 5,750 rpm. The official time is 4.4 seconds. The top speed is electronically limited to , which could be increased to if the "M Driver's Package" was purchased.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission ("M-DCT") is used, along with a limited slip differential that can provide torque vectoring between the rear wheels. In North America, the M5 was available with a 6-speed manual transmission, the only market to be offered this option.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The B5 is based on the 550i and is powered by an Alpina-modified version of the BMW N63 twin-turbo V8 engine. The original B5, which was unveiled at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed, produced and . The transmission is an 8-speed automatic.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: Alpina unveiled an updated B5 at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. Power had been uprated to and torque to . During 2015, Alpina sold the B5 Bi-Turbo Edition 50, which marked the company's 50th year in operation. The Edition 50 uses an upgraded engine which produces and . The standard B5 received this same engine for the B5's last year of production, 2016.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The D5 Bi-Turbo is based on the 535d. It is powered by Alpina-modified version of the BMW N57 turbo straight-6 engine, which produces and .


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The 530Le is a plug-in hybrid version F18 long-wheelbase sedan, which was produced solely for the Chinese market.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: It was unveiled at the 2014 Guangzhou Auto Show. It was powered by BMW's N20 working in conjunction with an electric motor with a maximum output of . In pure-electric mode the 530Le can reach a maximum speed of and has a maximum range of . Combined fuel consumption is .


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The ActiveHybrid is a hybrid version of the 5 Series based on the 535i Sedan. It was previewed by the "Concept 5 Series ActiveHybrid" at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and produced from 2011 to 2016.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The production ActiveHybrid 5 features a synchronous electric motor integrated into the housing of the automatic gearbox. This is combined with the turbocharged 3.0 litre straight-six engine from the 535i. The electric motor produces and of torque. The lithium-ion battery has its own cooling system and has a capacity of 1.35 kWh. Due to the presence of the battery, luggage space is reduced from 520 litres to 375 litres.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: Electric-only mode can be used at speeds of up to . The ActiveHybrid 5 includes a start-stop system and a coasting mode. BMW claims the ActiveHybrid 5 is capable of an electric-only range of .


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rated the 2013 model year ActiveHybrid 5 with a combined fuel economy of , with in the city, and in highway. The fuel-saving technologies reduces fuel consumption and emissions by more than 10%.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The "M550d xDrive" is the highest diesel-engined model, and was produced in sedan and Touring body styles. It was a launch model for the "M Performance" sub-brand – alongside the X5 M50d and X6 M50d – at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show and was produced until 2016. The M550d is powered by the N57S triple-turbo straight-6 diesel engine. The N57S produces and , resulting in a claimed 0 to acceleration of 4.7s (4.9s for the Touring). The transmission is a ZF 8HP 8-speed automatic and all models are all-wheel drive ("xDrive").


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: Production of the F10 occurred at the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing in Germany and at the BMW Brilliance plant in China. Series production began on 7 January 2010 and the last F10 generation car was produced in February 2017.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: In 2011, BMW North America released an advertisement called "Refuel" to promote the F10's fuel economy and re-introduce BMW's traditional "Ultimate Driving Machine" motto. The ad features an F10 sedan and a jet plane.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: BMW Canada's advertisement for the launch of the F10 M5 in 2012 is a 2-minute video called "Bullet". The advertisement shows the M5 launching from a tube and destroying several targets in its path. In December 2011, the F10 M5 featured in a commercial where an illustrator attempted to draw a Christmas card in the M5 while it was being driven around the Circuit de l'Anneau Du Rhin. A movie featuring an M5 prototype driving in snow was also produced.


title: BMW 5 Series (F10)

text: The F10 M5 was also used as a Nürburgring Ring Taxi. It was unveiled at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed and replaced the E90 M3 as Ring Taxi in April 2012.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein bin Talal (, "Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl"; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was a 40th-generation direct descendant of Muhammad.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein was born in Amman as the eldest child of Talal bin Abdullah and Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil. Talal was then the heir to his own father, King Abdullah I. Hussein began his schooling in Amman, continuing his education abroad. After Talal became king in 1951, Hussein was named heir apparent. The Jordanian Parliament forced Talal to abdicate a year later due to his illness, and a regency council was appointed until Hussein came of age. He was enthroned at the age of 17 on 2 May 1953. Hussein was married four separate times and fathered eleven children including King Abdullah II of Jordan.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein, a constitutional monarch, started his rule with what was termed a "liberal experiment", allowing in 1956 the formation of the only democratically elected government in Jordan's history. A few months into the experiment, he forced that government to resign, declaring martial law and banning political parties. Jordan fought three wars with Israel under Hussein, including the 1967 Six-Day War, which ended in Jordan's loss of the West Bank. In 1970, Hussein expelled Palestinian fighters (fedayeen) from Jordan after they had threatened the country's security in what became known as Black September in Jordan. The King renounced Jordan's ties to the West Bank in 1988 after the Palestine Liberation Organization was recognized internationally as the sole representative of the Palestinians. He lifted martial law and reintroduced elections in 1989 when riots over price hikes spread in southern Jordan. In 1994 he became the second Arab head of state to sign a peace treaty with Israel.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: At the time of Hussein's accession in 1953, Jordan was a young nation and controlled the West Bank. The country had few natural resources, and a large Palestinian refugee population as a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Hussein led his country through four turbulent decades of the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Cold War, successfully balancing pressures from Arab nationalists, Islamists, the Soviet Union, Western countries, and Israel, transforming Jordan by the end of his 46-year reign into a stable modern state. After 1967 he engaged in efforts to solve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He acted as a conciliatory intermediate between various Middle Eastern rivals, and came to be seen as the region's peacemaker. He was revered for pardoning political dissidents and opponents, and giving them senior posts in the government. Hussein, who survived dozens of assassination attempts and plots to overthrow him, was the region's longest-reigning leader. He died at the age of 63 from cancer in 1999 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah II.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein was born in Amman on 14 November 1935 to Crown Prince Talal and Princess Zein al-Sharaf. Hussein was the eldest among his siblings, three brothers and two sistersPrincess Asma, Prince Muhammad, Prince Hassan, Prince Muhsin, and Princess Basma. During one cold Ammani winter, his baby sister Princess Asma died from pneumonia, an indication of how poor his family was thenthey could not afford heating in their house.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein was the namesake of his paternal great-grandfather, Hussein bin Ali (Sharif of Mecca), the leader of the 1916 Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Hussein claimed to be an agnatic descendant of Muhammad's daughter Fatimah and her husband Ali, the fourth caliph, since Hussein belonged to the Hashemite family, which had ruled Mecca for over 700 yearsuntil its 1925 conquest by the House of Saudand has ruled Jordan since 1921. The Hashemites, the oldest ruling dynasty in the Muslim world, are the second-oldest-ruling dynasty in the world (after the Imperial House of Japan).


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein's maternal grandmother, Widjan Hanim, was the daughter of Shakir Pasha who was the Ottoman governor of Cyprus.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The young prince started his elementary education in Amman. He was then educated at Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt. He proceeded to Harrow School in England, where he befriended his second cousin Faisal II of Iraq, who was also studying there. Faisal was then King of Hashemite Iraq, but was under regency since he was the same age as Hussein.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein's grandfather, King Abdullah I, the founder of modern Jordan, did not see in his two sons Talal and Nayef potential for kingship, and therefore he focused his efforts on the upbringing of his grandson Hussein. A special relationship grew between the two. Abdullah assigned Hussein a private tutor for extra Arabic lessons, and Hussein acted as interpreter for his grandfather during his meetings with foreign leaders, as Abdullah understood English but could not speak it. On 20 July 1951, 15-year-old Prince Hussein travelled to Jerusalem to perform Friday prayers at the Masjid Al-Aqsa with his grandfather. A Palestinian assassin opened fire on Abdullah and his grandson, amid rumours that the King had been planning to sign a peace treaty with the newly established state of Israel. Abdullah died, but Hussein survived the assassination attempt and, according to witnesses, pursued the assassin. Hussein was also shot, but the bullet was deflected by a medal on his uniform that his grandfather had given him.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Abdullah's eldest son, Talal, was proclaimed King of Jordan. Talal appointed his son Hussein as crown prince on 9 September 1951. After a reign lasting less than thirteen months, the Parliament forced King Talal to abdicate due to his mental statedoctors had diagnosed schizophrenia. In his brief reign, Talal had introduced a modern, somewhat liberal constitution in 1952 that is still in use today. Hussein was proclaimed king on 11 August 1952, succeeding to the throne three months before his 17th birthday. A telegram from Jordan was brought in to Hussein while he was staying with his mother abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland, addressed to 'His Majesty King Hussein'. "I did not need to open it to know that my days as a schoolboy were over," Hussein later wrote in his memoirs. He returned home to cheering crowds.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: A three-man regency council made up of the prime minister and heads of the Senate and the House of Representatives was appointed until he became 18 (by the Muslim calendar). Meanwhile, Hussein pursued further study at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was enthroned on 2 May 1953, the same day that his cousin Faisal II assumed his constitutional powers as king of Iraq.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The teenaged king inherited the throne not only of Jordan, but also of the West Bank, captured by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and annexed in 1950. The country was poor in natural resources, and had a large Palestinian refugee population resulting from the warthe annexation of the West Bank had made Palestinians two-thirds of the population, outnumbering Jordanians. Upon assuming the throne, he appointed Fawzi Mulki as prime minister. Mulki's liberal policies, including freedom of the press, led to unrest as opposition groups started a propaganda campaign against the monarchy. Palestinian fighters (fedayeen, meaning self-sacrificers) used Jordanian-controlled territory to launch attacks against Israel, sometimes provoking heavy retaliation. One reprisal operation by Israel became known as the Qibya massacre; it resulted in the death of 66 civilians in the West Bank village of Qibya. The incident led to protests, and in 1954 Hussein dismissed Mulki amid the unrest and appointed staunch royalist Tawfik Abu Al-Huda. The country held parliamentary elections in October 1954, while the country's parties were not yet fully organized. Abu Al-Huda lasted only a year, and the government underwent reshuffling three times within the following year.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The 1955 Baghdad Pact was a Western attempt to form a Middle Eastern alliance to counter Soviet influence and Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt. Jordan then found itself in the middle of Cold War tensions. Britain, Turkey, and Iraq were members of the pact, and Jordan was pressured by Britain to join. Nasserism (a socialist Pan-Arabist ideology) swept the Arab World in the 1950s, and the proposal to join the pact triggered large riots in the country. Curfews imposed by the Arab Legion did little to alleviate the situation and tensions persisted throughout 1955. The local unrest, periodically fueled by propaganda transmitted from Egyptian radios, was only calmed after the King appointed a new prime minister who promised not to enter the Baghdad Pact. Saudi Arabia found common ground with Egypt in their suspicions of the Hashemites, both in Jordan and in Iraq. The Saudis massed troops near Aqaba on Jordan's southern borders in January 1956, and only withdrew after the British threatened to intervene on Jordan's behalf. Hussein realized that the Arab nationalist trend had dominated Arab politics, and decided to start downgrading Jordan's relationship with the British. On 1 March 1956, Hussein asserted Jordanian independence by Arabizing the army's command: he dismissed Glubb Pasha as the commander of the Arab Legion and replaced all the senior British officers with Jordanians, thereby renaming it into the "Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army." He annulled the Anglo-Jordanian treaty and replaced British subsidies with Arab aid. Hussein's bold decisions were met with admiration at home and relations with Arab states improved.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Egyptian President Nasser received an outpouring of support from the Arab public after the Egyptian–Czechoslovak arms deal was signed in September 1955, and his popularity in Jordan skyrocketed following the nationalization of the Suez Canal in July 1956; his actions were seen as a powerful stance against Western imperialism. Hussein was also supportive of the moves. The coinciding events in Egypt had Jordanian leftist opposition parties leaning greatly towards Nasser.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Disagreements between the monarchy and the leftist government culminated in March 1957 when Nabulsi provided Hussein with a list of senior officers in the military he wanted to dismiss; Hussein initially heeded the recommendations. However, Nabulsi then presented an expanded list, which Hussein refused to act upon. Nabulsi's government was forced to resign on 10 April. On 13 April, rioting broke in the Zarqa army barracks and the 21-year-old Hussein went to end the violence between royalist and Arab nationalist army units after the latter group spread rumors that the King had been assassinated. A 3,000-man Syrian force started moving south towards the Jordanian border in support of what they perceived as a coup attempt, but turned around after the army units showed their loyalty to the King. Two principal accounts emerged regarding the events at Zarqa, with the royalist version holding that the incident was an abortive coup by army chief of staff Ali Abu Nuwar against King Hussein, and the dissident version asserting that it was a staged, American-backed counter-coup by Hussein against the pan-Arabist movement in Jordan. In either case, Abu Nuwar and other senior Arabist officers resigned and were allowed to leave Jordan for Syria, where they incited opposition to the Jordanian monarchy. Hussein reacted by imposing martial law. Although he eventually relaxed some of these measures, namely military curfews and severe press censorship, Hussein's moves significantly curtailed the constitutional democracy that existed in Jordan in the mid-1950s. The alleged conspirators were sentenced to 15 years in absentia, but later on were pardoned by Hussein in 1964 as part of his reconciliation efforts with his exiled opposition, and were entrusted with senior positions in the government.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The 1950s became known as the Arab Cold War, due to the conflict between states led by Nasserist Egypt and traditionalist kingdoms led by Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic (UAR) on 1 February 1958, with the Republic's presidency occupied by Nasser. As a counterweight, Hussein and his cousin, King Faisal II of Hashemite Iraq, established the Arab Federation on 14 February 1958 in an Amman ceremony. The two rival entities launched propaganda wars against each other through their radio broadcasts. Jordanian and Syrian forces clashed in March along the border. UAR-inspired conspiracies started to emerge against the Hashemite federation. An officer in Jordan was arrested for plotting to assassinate Hussein. It also emerged in Jordan that the UAR was planning to overthrow both Hashemite monarchies in July 1958. Jordan reacted by arresting 40 suspected army officers, and Hussein called in Iraqi army chief of staff Rafiq Aref to brief him on the exposed plot. Aref replied, "You look after yourselves. Iraq is a very stable country, unlike Jordan. If there are any worries it is Jordan that should be worried." Although Faisal and Hussein enjoyed a very close relationship, Faisal's Iraqi entourage looked down on Jordan; Hussein attributed this attitude to Iraqi crown prince 'Abd al-Ilah's influence.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The Lebanese, pro-Western government of Camille Chamoun was also threatened to be toppled by growing UAR-supported domestic opposition groups. The Iraqis sent a brigade to Jordan on 13 July at Hussein's request. The Iraqi brigade's departure to Jordan gave the conspirators in Iraq, led by Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim, the opportunity to strike. On 14 July, an Iraqi unit stormed the royal palace in Iraq, executed all members of the Iraqi royal family, and mutilated the bodies of the crown prince and the Iraqi Prime Minister of the Arab Federation, Nuri Al-Said. Devastated, Hussein ordered a Jordanian expedition led by Sharif Nasser to reclaim the Iraqi throne, but it was recalled after it was inside Iraq. Hussein, worried about a similar coup in Jordan, tightened martial law. American troops landed in both Lebanon and Jordan as a show of support for pro-Western regimes in the region against the Nasserist tide. By October, the situation had calmed, and Western troops were recalled.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein went on a vacation to Switzerland on 10 November. As he was flying his own plane over Syria, it was intercepted by two Syrian jets that attempted to attack. Hussein outmaneuvered the Syrians and survived the assassination attempt, landing safely in Amman, where he received a hero's welcomehis popularity in Jordan skyrocketed overnight. Golda Meir, an Israeli politician who would later become prime minister, was reported in 1958 as saying: "We all pray three times a day for King Hussein's safety and success." The Israelis preferred that Hussein remained in power, rather than a Nasserist regime.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: In 1959, Hussein embarked on a tour to different countries to consolidate bilateral ties. His visit to the United States gained him many friends in Congress after he spoke openly against Soviet influence in the Middle East, returning with a $50million aid package. Sadiq Al-Shar'a, an army general who accompanied Hussein to the United States, was found to have been plotting a coup against the monarchy. News of the arrest of the conspiring officers in Jordan coincided with Hussein's visit to the US. Hussein was tipped off to Al-Shar'a's involvement, but did not reveal it until they both landed back in Jordan. Al-Shar'a was tried and received the death penalty; Hussein reduced his sentence to life imprisonment. Four years later, Al-Shar'a was pardoned and appointed director of Jordan's passport office.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hazza' Majali was appointed by Hussein to form a government; it consisted of loyalists who had persuaded Hussein to launch an offensive against the Iraqi government to restore the Hashemite monarchy. The expedition was cancelled amid British opposition and the weakened state of the Royal Jordanian Air Force. UAR agents assassinated Prime Minister Majali with a bomb planted in his office. Twenty minutes later, another explosion went off; it was intended for Hussein as it was expected he would run to the scene, which he didhe was a few minutes late. Hussein, persuaded by Habis Majali, Hazza's cousin and the army chief of staff, prepared for a retaliation against Syria, whose intelligence service was responsible for the assassination. He prepared three brigades in the north, but the operation was called off after combined pressures from the Americans and the British. Egyptian radios denounced Hussein as the "Judas of the Arabs."


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein would be subjected to several more assassination attempts. One involved replacing his nose drops with strong acid. Another plot was uncovered after a large number of cats were found dead in the royal palace; it emerged that the cook had been trying poisons to use against the king. He was later pardoned and released after Hussein received a plea from the cook's daughter. Assassination attempts against the king subsided after a successful coup toppled the Syrian regime on 28 September 1961 and the UAR collapsed. With a calmed situation in Jordan, the King issued his slogan "Let us build this country to serve this nation." But critics considered the slogan mere lip service, saying Hussein showed little interest in the economic situation of the country, unlike the military and foreign relations aspects.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: In January 1962 Wasfi Tal was appointed prime minister. The young politician who worked to bring sweeping reforms resigned after Hussein sought to solidify his position following the rise of the Nasser-supporting Ba'ath party to the governments of Iraq and Syria in two 1963 coups. The first direct contacts between Jordan and Israel started in early 1960s; Hussein had a Jewish doctor named Emmanuel Herbert who acted as intermediary between the two nations during Hussein's visits to London. In the talks, Hussein highlighted his commitment to a peaceful resolution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. His secret rapprochement with Israel was followed by a public rapprochement with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1964, which bolstered Hussein's popularity both in Jordan and in the Arab world. Hussein received a warm welcome after visiting West Bank cities afterwards. The rapprochement with Nasser happened during the 1964 Arab League summit in Cairo, where the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) were established, and where Jordan agreed to join the United Arab Command. During the summit Nasser also attempted to convince Hussein to purchase Soviet weapons, but the Americans provided Hussein with tanks and jets instead, with the understanding that they would not be used in the West Bank at Israel's request. The PLO identified itself as a representative of the Palestinian people, which clashed with Jordan's sovereignty claim over the West Bank. The PLO started to demand that the Jordanian government legalize their activities, including the setting up of Palestinian armed units to fight Israel; the requests were denied.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein later stated that during one of his meetings with Israeli representatives: "I told them I could not absorb a serious retaliatory raid, and they accepted the logic of this and promised there would never be one." The Palestinian nationalist organization Fatah started organizing cross-border attacks against Israel in January 1965, often drawing Israeli reprisals on Jordan. One such reprisal was the Samu Incident, an attack launched by Israel on 13 November 1966 on the Jordanian-controlled West Bank town of As-Samu after three Israeli soldiers were killed by a Fatah landmine. The assault inflicted heavy Arab casualties. Israeli writer Avi Shlaim argues that Israel's disproportionate retaliation exacted revenge on the wrong party, as Israeli leaders knew from their coordination with Hussein that he was doing everything he could to prevent such attacks. The incident drew fierce local criticism of Hussein amid feelings he had been betrayed by the Israelis; Hussein also suspected that Israel had changed its attitude towards Jordan and had intended to escalate matters in order to capture the West Bank. Yitzhak Rabin, the then Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, later admitted the disproportionate reaction by Israel, and that the operation would have been better directed at Syria, which was supporting such attacks: "We had neither political nor military reasons to arrive at a confrontation with Jordan or to humiliate Hussein."


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The events at Samu triggered large-scale anti-Hashemite protests in the West Bank for what they perceived as Hussein's incompetency for defending them against Israel: rioters attacked government offices, chanted pro-Nasser slogans, and called on Hussein to have the same fate as Nuri As-Saidthe Iraqi prime minister who had been killed and mutilated in 1958 along with the Iraqi royal family. Jordanians believed that after this incident, Israel would march on the West Bank whether or not Jordan joined the war. Perception of King Hussein's efforts to come to peaceful terms with Israel led to great dissatisfaction among some Arab leaders. President Nasser of Egypt denounced Hussein as an "imperialist lackey." In a meeting with American officials, Hussein, sometimes with tears in his eyes, said: "The growing split between the East Bank and the West Bank has ruined my dreams," and, "There is near despair in the army and the army no longer has confidence in me." Hussein travelled to Cairo on 30 May 1967 and hastily signed an Egyptian-Jordanian mutual defense treaty, returning home to cheering crowds. Shlaim argues that Hussein had possessed options, but had made two mistakes: the first was in putting the Jordanian army under Egyptian command; the second was in allowing the entry of Iraqi troops into Jordan, which raised Israeli suspicions against Jordan. Egyptian general Abdul Munim Riad arrived in Jordan to command its army pursuant to the pact signed with Egypt.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 5 June 1967 the Six-Day War began after an Israeli strike wiped out Egypt's Air Force. The Egyptian army commander in Cairo transmitted to General Riad that the Israeli strike had failed, and that Israel's Air Force was almost wiped out. Based on the misleading information from Cairo, Riad ordered the Jordanian army to take offensive positions and attack Israeli targets around Jerusalem. Jordanian Hawker Hunters made sorties but were destroyed by Israel when they went to refuel; Syria's and Iraq's air forces followed. Israel's air superiority on the first day of war proved decisive. Two Israeli jets attempted to assassinate Hussein; one was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery, and the other shot directly at Hussein's office in the royal palace. Hussein was not there, the CIA station chief in Amman Jack O'Connell relayed a message threatening the Israelis, and the attempts stopped. The Jordanians had prepared a war strategy, but the Egyptian commander insisted to build his strategy based on the misleading information from Egypt.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: By 7 June fighting led the Jordanians to withdraw from the West Bank, and Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock were abandoned after desperate fighting. Israel blew up the bridges between the two banks to consolidate its control. Jordan suffered a severe setback with the loss of the West Bank, which contributed 40% to Jordan's GDP in the tourism, industrial, and agricultural sectors. Around 200,000 Palestinian refugees fled to Jordan, destabilizing Jordan's demographics. The loss of Jerusalem was critical to Jordan, and specifically for Hussein who held the Hashemite custodianship of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. Al-Aqsa mosque is the third holiest site in Islam, believed to be where Muhammad ascended to heaven. By 11 June Israel had decisively won the war by capturing the West Bank from Jordan, Gaza and the Sinai from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Nasser and Hussein, recognizing their defeat, sought to work together towards a more moderate stance.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 22 November 1967 the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved resolution 242, which became one of Jordan's foreign policy cornerstones. It denounced acquisition of territory by force and called on Israel to withdraw from territories occupied in the 1967 war. Israel rejected the resolution. Hussein restarted talks with Israeli representatives throughout 1968 and 1969, but the talks went nowhereShlaim claims the Israelis stalled and that Hussein refused to cede any West Bank territory.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: After Jordan lost control of the West Bank in 1967, Palestinian fighters known as "fedayeen", meaning self-sacrificers, moved their bases to Jordan and stepped up their attacks on Israel and Israeli occupied territories. One Israeli retaliation on a PLO camp based in Karameh, a Jordanian town along the border with the West Bank, developed into a full-scale battle. It is believed that Israel had wanted to punish Jordan for its perceived support for the PLO. After failing to capture Yasser Arafat, the PLO leader, Israeli forces withdrew or were repulsed, but not before destroying the Karameh camp and sustaining relatively high casualties. The perceived joint Jordanian-Palestinian victory in the 1968 Battle of Karameh led to an upsurge of support in the Arab World for Palestinian fighters in Jordan. The PLO in Jordan grew in strength, and by the beginning of 1970 the fedayeen groups started to openly call for the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy. Acting as a state within a state, the fedayeen disregarded local laws and regulations, and even attempted to assassinate King Hussein twice, leading to violent confrontations between them and the Jordanian army. Hussein wanted to oust the fedayeen from the country, but hesitated to strike because he did not want his enemies to use it against him by equating Palestinian fighters with civilians. PLO actions in Jordan culminated in the Dawson's Field hijackings incident on 10 September 1970, in which the fedayeen hijacked three civilian aircraft and forced their landing in Zarqa, taking foreign nationals as hostages, and later bombing the planes in front of the international press. Hussein saw this as the last straw, and ordered the army to move.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 17 September the Jordanian army surrounded cities that had a PLO presence, including Amman and Irbid, and began shelling the fedayeen, who had established themselves in Palestinian refugee camps. The next day, a force from Syria with PLO markings started advancing towards Irbid, which the fedayeen declared a "liberated" city. On 22 September, the Syrians withdrew after the Jordanian army launched an air-ground offensive that inflicted heavy Syrian losses, and after Israeli Air Force jets flew over Syrian units in a symbolic show of support of Hussein, but did not engage. An agreement brokered by Egyptian President Nasser between Arafat and Hussein led to an end to the fighting on 27 September. Nasser died the following day of a heart attack. On 13 October Hussein signed an agreement with Arafat to regulate the fedayeen's presence, but the Jordanian army attacked again in January 1971. The fedayeen were driven out of Jordanian cities one by one until 2,000 fedayeen surrendered after being encircled in a forest near Ajloun on 17 July, marking the end of the conflict.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Jordan allowed the fedayeen to leave for Lebanon through Syria, an event that led to the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. The Black September Organization was founded the same year, named after the conflict. The organization claimed responsibility for the assassination of Jordanian prime minister Wasfi Tal in 1971, and the highly publicized 1972 Munich massacre against Israeli athletes.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: In a speech to the Jordanian parliament on 15 March 1972, Hussein announced his "United Arab Kingdom" plan. Unlike the unitary state that had existed between the West Bank and Jordan during Jordan's annexation of the West Bank (1950–1967), this plan envisaged two federal entities on each bank of the Jordan River. According to the proposal, the two districts of the federation would be autonomous, excluding the military and the foreign and security affairs that would be determined by an Amman central government. But the implementation of the plan was to be conditional upon achieving a peace agreement between Israel and Jordan. Ultimately, Hussein's proposal was ruled out after it was vehemently rejected by Israel, the PLO, and several Arab states.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: After the 1967 war, Gunnar Jarring was appointed by the UN as a special envoy for the Middle East peace process, leading the Jarring Mission. The talks between Arab countries and Israel resulted in a deadlock. The stalemate led to renewed fears of another war between Arab countries and Israel. Worried that Jordan would be dragged into another war unprepared, Hussein sent Zaid Al-Rifai to Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in December 1972 to inquire. Sadat informed Al-Rifai that he had been planning a limited incursion in the Sinai that would allow some political manoeuvring. Sadat then invited Al-Rifai and Hussein to a summit on 10 September 1973 with him and Hafez Al-Assad, who had become president of Syria. The summit ended with a restoration of ties between Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Sadat disclosed to Assad and Hussein his intention to initiate military action. Hussein refused Sadat's request to allow the fedayeen's return to Jordan but agreed that in case of a military operation, Jordanian troops would play a limited defensive role in assisting the Syrians in the Golan Heights.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Egypt and Syria launched the Yom Kippur War against Israel in the Sinai and in the Golan Heights on 6 October 1973 without Hussein's knowledge. Between 10 September and 6 October, Hussein secretly met with Israeli prime minister Golda Meir in Tel Aviv on 25 September. Israeli leaks of the meeting led to rumors in the Arab World that Hussein had tipped off Meir about Arab intentions. Hussein only discussed with Meir what both already knew, that the Syrian army was on alert. On 13 October Jordan joined the war and sent the 40thbrigade to assist the Syrians in the Golan Heights. Some see it as ironic that it was the same brigade that had been sent to deter the Syrian invasion during Black September in 1970. Subsequent peace talks with Israel collapsed; while Jordan wanted a complete Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, Israel preferred to retain control but with Jordanian administration.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: In the 1974 Arab League summit held in Morocco on 26 October, a Fatah plot to assassinate Hussein upon his arrival was uncovered by the Moroccan authorities. The plot did not deter Hussein from joining the summit, but at the end Jordan had to join all the Arab countries in recognizing the PLO as "the sole representative of the Palestinian people," a diplomatic defeat for Hussein. The relationship between Jordan and the United States deteriorated when Jordan refused to join the Camp David Accords. The Accords formed the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, and allowed the withdrawal of Israel from the Sinai. In 1978 Hussein went to Baghdad for the first time since 1958; there, he met Iraqi politician Saddam Hussein. When Saddam became president of Iraq in 1979, Hussein supported Saddam's Iran–Iraq War that stretched from 1980 to 1988. The relationship grew as Saddam provided Jordan with subsidized oil, and Jordan allowed Iraq to use the Port of Aqaba for its exports.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: When the PLO moved to Lebanon from Jordan after 1970, repeated attacks and counter-attacks occurred in southern Lebanon between the PLO and Israel. Two major Israeli incursions into Lebanon occurred in 1978, and the other in 1982, the latter conflict troubled Hussein as the IDF had laid siege to Beirut. The PLO was to be expelled from Lebanon, and Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Defense minister, suggested they be moved to Jordan where the monarchy would be toppled and Jordan would serve as an "alternative Palestinian homeland." Sharon boasted: "One speech by me will make King Hussein realize that the time has come to pack his bags." However, Arafat rejected Sharon's suggestion, and the fedayeen were transported to Tunisia under American cover.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: In 1983 American president Ronald Reagan suggested a peace plan that became known as the Reagan plan, similar to Hussein's 1972 federation plan. Hussein and Arafat both agreed to the plan on 1 April, but the PLO's executive office rejected it. A year and a half later, a renewed effort by Hussein to jump start the peace process culminated in the establishment of a Jordan–PLO accord that sought a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an unprecedented milestone for the PLO and a Jordanian diplomatic victory. The accord was opposed by Israel and garnered no international support from either the United States or the Soviet Union. Around the same time, Hussein met Israel prime minister Shimon Peres on 19 July 1985 in the United Kingdom, where Peres assented to the accord, but later the rest of his government opposed it due to the PLO's involvement. Subsequent talks between the PLO and Jordan collapsed after the PLO refused to make concessions; in a speech Hussein announced that "after two long attempts, I and the government of Jordan hereby announce that we are unable to continue to coordinate politically with the PLO leadership until such time as their word becomes their bond, characterized by commitment, credibility and constancy."


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Jordan started a crackdown on the PLO by closing their offices in Amman after the Israeli minister of defense, Yitzhak Rabin, requested it from Hussein in a secret meeting. Jordan announced a $1.3billion five-year development plan for the West Bank, in a bid to enhance its image in the West Bank residents at the expense of the PLO. Around the same time, Hussein became troubled after he heard that Israel had been selling American weapons to Iran, thereby lengthening the conflict between Iraq and Iran, both supporters of the PLO. The relationship between Hussein and Saddam became very closeHussein visited Baghdad 61 times between 1980 and 1990, and Saddam used Hussein to relay messages to several countries, including the US and Britain. In June 1982, after Iran's victory seemed imminent, Hussein personally carried to Saddam sensitive photographic intelligence forwarded to him by the US. In return, Saddam provided incentives for Jordanian exports to Iraq, which accounted for a quarter of all Jordan's exports, valued at $212.3million in 1989. Iraqi aid helped Jordan's finances; Hussein had felt it humiliating to keep asking Gulf countries for assistance. Hussein made a little-known attempt to heal the rift between the two Ba'ath regimes of Iraq and Syria in April 1986. The meeting between Hafez Al-Assad and Saddam Hussein occurred at an airbase in Al-Jafr in the eastern Jordanian desert. The talks lasted for a day, after which no progress was made. Saddam was angry at Al-Assad for supporting Iran against an Arab country, Iraq, and Al-Assad was adamant about establishing a union between Iraq and Syria, which Saddam rejected.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 11 April 1987, after Yitzhak Shamir became prime minister of Israel, Hussein engaged in direct talks with Shamir's foreign minister, Peres, in London. After reaching an agreement between Hussein and Peres on establishing an international peace conference, Shamir and the rest of the ministers in his cabinet rejected the proposal. On 8 November 1987 Jordan hosted an Arab League summit; Hussein enjoyed good relations with rival Arab blocs, and he acted as conciliatory intermediate. He helped mobilize Arab support for Iraq against Iran, and for Jordan's peace efforts, and helped to end the decade-long Arab boycott of Egypta boycott that began after it unilaterally signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Hussein described the summit as one of the best moments in his life.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 9 December 1987 an Israeli truck driver ran over four Palestinians in a Gaza refugee camp, sparking unrest that spread to violent demonstrations in the West Bank. What began as an uprising to achieve Palestinian independence against the Israeli occupation turned into an upsurge of support for the PLO, which had orchestrated the uprising, and consequently diminished Jordanian influence in the West Bank. Jordanian policy on the West Bank had to be reconsidered following renewed fears that Israel would revive its proposal for Jordan to become an "alternative Palestinian homeland." US Secretary of State George P. Shultz set up a peace process that became known as the Schulz Initiative. It called for Jordan rather than the PLO to represent the Palestinians; however, when Schultz contacted Hussein about the plan, he reversed his position and told him it was a matter for the PLO to decide.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The orchestrators of the Intifada were the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising, which issued its 10th communiqué on 11 March 1988, urging its followers to "intensify the mass pressure against the [Israel] occupation army and the settlers and against collaborators and personnel of the Jordanian regime." West Bank Palestinians deviation from the Jordanian state highlighted the need for a revision in Jordan's policy, and Jordanian nationalists began to argue that Jordan would be better off without the Palestinians and without the West Bank. Adnan Abu Oudeh, a Palestinian descendant who was Hussein's political advisor, Prime Minister Zaid Al-Rifai, army chief of staff Zaid ibn Shaker, Royal Court chief Marwan Kasim, and mukhabarat director Tariq Alaeddin, helped the King prepare West Bank disengagement plans. The Jordanian Ministry of Occupied Territories Affairs was abolished on 1 July 1988, its responsibilities taken over by the Palestinian Affairs Department. On 28 July Jordan terminated the West Bank development plan. Two days later a royal decree dissolved the House of Representatives, thereby removing West Bank representation in the Parliament. In a televised speech on 1 August, Hussein announced the "severing of Jordan's legal and administrative ties with the West Bank," essentially surrendering claims of sovereignty over the West Bank. The move revoked the Jordanian citizenship of Palestinians in the West Bank (who had obtained it since Jordan annexed the territory in 1950), but not that of Palestinians residing in Jordan. Nevertheless, the Hashemite custodianship over the Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem was retained. Israeli politicians were stunned, thinking it was a political manoeuvre so that the Palestinians could show support for Hussein, but later realized that it represented a shift in Jordan's policy after Hussein asked his West Bank supporters not to issue petitions demanding that he relent. In a meeting in November 1988 the PLO accepted all United Nations resolutions and agreed to recognize Israel.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Jordan's disengagement from the West Bank led to a slowing of the Jordanian economy. The Jordanian dinar lost a third of its value in 1988, and Jordan's foreign debt reached a figure double that of its gross national product (GNP). Jordan introduced austerity measures to combat the economic crisis. On 16 April 1989 the government increased prices of gasoline, licensing fees, alcoholic beverages, and cigarettes, between 15% to 50%, in a bid to increase revenues in accordance with an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF agreement was to enable Jordan to reschedule its $6billion debt, and obtain loans totaling $275million over 18months. On 18 April riots in Ma'an spread to other southern towns such as Al-Karak and Tafila, where the "New York Times" reported that around 4,000 people gathered in the streets and clashed with the police, resulting in six protesters killed and 42 injured, and two policemen killed and 47 injured.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Despite the fact that the protests were triggered by a troubling economic situation, the crowds' demands became political. Protesters accused Zaid Al-Rifai's government of rampant corruption and demanded that the martial law in place since 1957 be lifted and parliamentary elections be resumed. The last parliamentary election had taken place in 1967, just before Jordan lost the West Bank, and when the parliament's tenure ended in 1971, no elections could be held due to the fact that the West Bank was under Israeli occupation, but the West Bank's status became irrelevant after Jordan's disengagement in 1988. Hussein relented to the demands by dismissing Al-Rifai, and appointed Zaid ibn Shaker to form a new government. In 1986 a new electoral law was passed, which allowed the reintroduction of parliamentary elections to proceed smoothly. The cabinet passed amendments to the electoral law that removed articles dealing with West Bank representation. In May 1989, just before the elections, Hussein announced his intention to appoint a 60-person royal commission to draft a reformist document named the National Charter. The National Charter sought to set a timetable for democratization acts. Although most members of the commission were regime loyalists, it included a number of opposition figures and dissidents. Parliamentary elections were held on 8 November 1989, the first in 22 years. The National Charter was drafted and ratified by parliament in 1991.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: A UN-brokered ceasefire became active in July 1988, ending the Iran-Iraq war. Hussein had advised Saddam after 1988 to polish his image in the West by visiting other countries, and by appearing at the United Nations for a speech, but to no avail. The Iraqi-Jordanian relationship developed into the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), which also included Egypt and Yemen, on 16 February 1989, serving as a counter to the Gulf Cooperation Council. Saddam's invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 led six months later to international intervention to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in what became known as the Gulf War. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait caught Hussein by surprise; he was the ACC chairman at that time, and a personal friend of Saddam's. After informing the American president George H. W. Bush of his intention to travel to Baghdad to contain the situation, Hussein travelled to Baghdad on 3 August for a meeting with Saddam; at the meeting, the latter announced his intention to withdraw Iraqi troops from Kuwait only if Arab governments refrained from issuing statements of condemnation, and no foreign troops were involved. On Hussein's way back from Baghdad, Egypt issued a condemnation of the Iraqi invasion. To Hussein's dismay, Egyptian president Husni Mubarak refused to reverse his position and called for Iraq's unconditional withdrawal from Kuwait. An Arab League summit held in Cairo issued a condemnation of Iraq with a fourteen-vote majority, despite calls by Jordan's foreign minister Marwan Al-Kasim that this move would hinder Hussein's efforts to reach a peaceful resolution. Both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia viewed Hussein with suspicionthey distrusted him and believed he was planning to obtain a share of Kuwait's wealth.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 6 August American troops arrived at the Kuwait-Saudi Arabian border, Saddam's conditions were ignored, and Hussein's role as mediator was undermined. Saddam then announced that his invasion had become "irreversible," and on 8 August he annexed Kuwait. Jordan, along with the international community, refused to recognize the Iraqi-installed regime in Kuwait. The United States, seeing Jordan's neutrality as siding with Saddam, cut its aid to Jordanaid on which Jordan depended; Gulf countries soon followed. Hussein's position in the international community was severely affected, so severe that he privately discussed his intention to abdicate. Jordan's public opinion was overwhelmingly against international intervention, and against Gulf rulers who were perceived to be greedy and corrupt. Hussein's popularity among Jordanians reached its zenith, and anti-Western demonstrations filled the streets. But Western pundits viewed Hussein's actions as impulsive and emotional, claiming that he could have dampened Jordanian public support for Iraq through better leadership. Hussein's brother, Crown Prince Hassan, also disagreed with Hussein, but the King refused to recognize Saddam's wrongdoings. In late August and early September Hussein visited twelve Western and Arab capitals in an effort to promote a peaceful resolution. He finished his tour by flying directly to Baghdad to meet Saddam, where he warned: "Make a brave decision and withdraw your forces; if you don't, you will be forced out." Saddam was adamant but agreed to Hussein's request to release Western nationals who were being held as hostages. Threats of a war between Israel and Iraq were rising, and in December 1990 Hussein relayed a message to Saddam saying that Jordan would not tolerate any violations of its territory. Jordan dispatched an armored division to its borders with Iraq, and Hussein's eldest son Abdullah was in charge of a Cobra helicopter squadron. Jordan also concentrated its forces near its border with Israel. Adding to Jordan's deteriorating situation was the arrival of 400,000 Palestinian refugees from Kuwait, who had all been working there. By 28 February 1991 the international coalition had successfully cleared Iraqi forces from Kuwait.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Jordan participated in the imposition of economic sanctions against Iraq even though the sanctions would severely affect its economy. The effects of the Gulf War, the sanctions on Iraq, and the flow of refugees to Jordan were estimated by a UN report to be $1.5billion out of a gross domestic product (GDP) of $4.2billion in 1990, and $3.6billion out of a GDP of $4.7billion in 1991. The end of the Gulf War coincided with the end of the Cold War. This allowed the United States to play a more active role in solving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Bush administration were still angry at Hussein for the Gulf War events but realized they needed Jordan's participation in any peace process. Hussein agreed to an American request to join an international peace conference so that Jordan could start repairing its relationship with the United States and end its political isolation. Hussein's moves towards democratization in 1989 and his stance during the 1990 Gulf War had won him considerable popularity across Jordan's political spectrum. But when Hussein replaced his conservative prime minister, Mudar Badran, with liberal Palestinian Taher Al-Masri, who was in favor of peace negotiations with Israel, the Muslim BrotherhoodJordan's main opposition group, who at that time occupied 22 out of 80 seats in the House of Representatives, and whose members and support came mostly from Palestinians in the countryvehemently rejected the new prime minister by voting against him during the vote of confidence. The Brotherhood also refused to participate in the National Congress where the King hoped to gather support for a peace settlement.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein was tasked by the United States with forming a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation to participate in the Madrid Peace Conference. The 28-member delegation consisted of 14 Jordanians and 14 Palestinians. Along with solving the Palestinian problem, Jordan sought to safeguard its interests in relation to security, the economy, water, and the environment. The peace conference convened on 30 October 1991, with delegations representing all parties to the conflict, the United States and the Soviet Union as co-sponsors, and the United Nations as observer. The conference set a framework for negotiations, and PLO representatives offered to accept a Palestinian state under a confederation with Jordan. At home, the Muslim Brotherhood considered Al-Masri and his government as too liberal, and the Brotherhood merged with independent Islamists and formed the Islamic Action Front (IAF), increasing its representation to 34 in the 80-member House of Representative, a force strong enough to bring down the royally appointed government with a motion of a vote of no confidence. Hussein then replaced Al-Masri with his conservative cousin Zaid ibn Shaker. Subsequent peace talks continued in Washington, D.C., stretching from December 1991 to September 1993.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein could not participate in the details of the talks, a task he handed to his brother Hassan. Hussein was referred to the Mayo Clinic in the United States after having urological problems; he had his left kidney removed after tests showed his ureter contained precancerous cells. When Hussein went back healed to Jordan, he received a hero's welcomea third of Jordan's population filled the streets to greet him. On 23 November 1992 he gave an unusually aggressive speech. He called on extremists on both the right and left of the political spectrum to end their opposition to the peace negotiations, denounced what he saw as the Gulf countries' undemocratic nature, and called on Saddam to introduce democracy to Iraq. Meanwhile, Yitzhak Rabin, under the leftist Labor Party, emerged as prime minister of Israel. Thus, the PLO and Israeli representatives were quick to reach an agreement, which culminated in the 1993 Oslo Accords. The Accords were held in secrecy between Arafat and Rabin without Hussein's knowledge, completely marginalizing Jordan and the Palestinian-Jordanian delegation in Washington.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The parliamentary elections held on 8 November 1993 were the first multi-party elections since 1956, but the proportional representation voting system was replaced by the controversial one man, one vote system. The latter system was introduced to limit the Islamist opposition's representation in the House of Representatives, by gerrymandering Palestinian majority areas and encouraging independents over partisan candidates. Consequently, the IAF's seats decreased from 34 to 21 seats out of 80. On 25 July 1994 Rabin and Hussein appeared at the White House and signed the Washington declaration, which announced the "end of the state of belligerency." Subsequent negotiations culminated in the Israel–Jordan peace treaty, signed on 26 October in a ceremony in Wadi Araba. The treaty was a culmination of over 58 secret meetings over 31 years between Hussein and Israeli leaders. The treaty recognized Jordan's role in Jerusalem's holy sites, which angered Arafat who had sought such a position. Jordan's relations with the United States greatly improved: $700million worth of Jordan's debt was forgiven by the United States Congress, and Bill Clinton's administration authorized a substantial flow of aid to Jordan. After 1995 Hussein became increasingly critical of Saddam's rule in Iraq.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 4 November 1995 the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist, who aimed to undermine Rabin's peace efforts with the Palestinians. Due to the close relationship forged with Rabin during the negotiations of the treaty, Hussein was invited to give a speech during Rabin's funeral in Jerusalem. This was the first time Hussein had been in Jerusalem since the 1967 war. Hussein drew parallels between Rabin's assassination and his grandfather's assassination in 1951: "We are not ashamed, nor are we afraid, nor are we anything but determined to continue the legacy for which my friend fell, as did my grandfather in this city when I was with him and but a boy."


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Jordan's signing of a peace treaty with Israel, and other issues, were met with disdain by Syria's president Hafez Al-Assad. The CIA handed the King a detailed report in December 1995 warning him of a Syrian plot to assassinate him and his brother Hassan. A month later, the CIA sent Hussein another report warning Jordan of Iraqi plots to attack Western targets in Jordan to undermine Jordan's security due to its support for the Iraqi opposition. In Israel, Shimon Peres of the leftist Labor Party and Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud party, were competing for the post of prime minister. Hussein's popularity in Israel had peaked after the peace treaty was signed, and he was expected to express support for a candidate. Hussein initially remained neutral, but later expressed support for Netanyahu. Efraim Halevy, then head of the Israeli intelligence agency (Mossad), claims that Hussein had preferred Netanyahu over Peres as he had deeply mistrusted the latter. The Israeli general election held on 29 May 1996 witnessed Netanyahu's ascension to the prime ministry.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein's support for Netanyahu soon backfired. Israel's actions during the 1996 Qana massacre in Southern Lebanon, the Likud government's decision to build settlements in East Jerusalem, and the events at the Temple Mount where clashes between Palestinian and Israeli police ensued after Israeli tunnel diggings around the Mount, generated an uproar of criticism for Netanyahu in the Arab World. On 9 March 1997 Hussein sent Netanyahu a three-page letter expressing his disappointment. The King lambasted Netanyahu, with the letter's opening sentence stating: "My distress is genuine and deep over the accumulating tragic actions which you have initiated at the head of the Government of Israel, making peace – the worthiest objective of my life – appear more and more like a distant elusive mirage."


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Four days later, on 13 March, a Jordanian soldier patrolling the borders between Jordan and Israel in the north near the Island of Peace, killed seven Israeli schoolgirls and wounded six others. The King, who was on an official visit to Spain, returned home immediately. He travelled to the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh to offer his condolences to the grieving families of the Israeli children killed. He went on his knees in front of the families, telling them that the incident was "a crime that is a shame for all of us. I feel as if I have lost a child of my own. If there is any purpose in life it will be to make sure that all the children no longer suffer the way our generation did." His gesture was received very warmly in Israel, and Hussein sent the families $1million in total as compensation for the loss of life. The soldier was determined to be mentally unstable by a Jordanian military tribunal and was sentenced to 20years in prison, which he served entirely.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian groups in Gaza and the West Bank surfaced. Hussein's wife, Queen Noor, later claimed her husband was having trouble sleeping: "Everything he had worked for all his life, every relationship he had painstakingly built on trust and respect, every dream of peace and prosperity he had had for Jordan's children, was turning into a nightmare. I really did not know how much more Hussein could take."


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 27 September 1997 eight Mossad agents entered Jordan using fake Canadian passports and attempted to assassinate Jordanian citizen Khaled Mashal, head of the Palestinian group Hamas. Hussein was preparing for a 30-year Hamas-Israel truce three days prior to the attempt, after Hamas had launched two attacks in Jerusalem. Two Mossad agents followed Mashal to his office and injected poison into his ears, but they were caught by Mashal's bodyguard. The two agents were then held by the Jordanian police, while the six other agents hid in the Israeli embassy. Furious, Hussein met with an Israeli delegate who attempted to explain the situation; the King said in a speech about the incident that he felt that somebody "had spat in his face." Jordanian authorities requested Netanyahu to provide an antidote to save Mashal's life, but Netanyahu refused to do so. Jordan then threatened to storm the Israeli embassy and capture the rest of the Mossad team, but Israel argued that it would be against the Geneva Conventions. Jordan replied that the Geneva Conventions "do not apply to terrorists," and a special operations team headed by Hussein's son Abdullah was put in charge of the operation. Hussein called American President Clinton and requested his intervention, threatening to annul the treaty if Israel did not provide the antidote. Clinton later managed to get Israel's approval to reveal the name of the antidote, and complained about Netanyahu: "This man is impossible!" Khaled Mashal recovered, but Jordan's relations with Israel deteriorated and Israeli requests to contact Hussein were rebuffed. The Mossad operatives were released by Jordan after Israel agreed to release 23 Jordanian and 50 Palestinian prisoners including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Mounting opposition in Jordan to the peace treaty with Israel led Hussein to put greater restrictions on freedom of speech. Several dissidents were imprisoned including Laith Shubeilat, a prominent Islamist. A few months into his imprisonment, the King personally gave Shubeilat, his fiercest critic, a ride home from the Swaqa prison. However, the crackdown led the opposition groups in Jordan to boycott the 1997 parliamentary elections. In 1998 Jordan refused a secret request from Netanyahu to attack Iraq using Jordanian airspace after claiming Saddam held weapons of mass destruction.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: In May 1998 Hussein, a heavy smoker, was admitted to the Mayo Clinic, but doctors were unable to diagnose his ailment. Hussein returned to the clinic in July after suffering severe fevers; doctors then diagnosed him with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He stayed in the clinic until the end of 1998, while his brother Hassan, who had been crown prince since 1965, acted as regent. He was given six courses of chemotherapy for his lymph gland cancer over a five-month period. Hussein gained the respect of the Mayo Clinic staff for his warmth and kindness; on one occasion, a janitor cried uncontrollably after Hussein prepared a birthday party for her in his suite.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: In October 1998 Bill Clinton invited Hussein, during his stay at the clinic for chemotherapy treatment, to attend the Wye Plantation talks after a stalemate was reached between the Israeli and Palestinian delegations. Hussein, who looked bald and weakened, arrived and urged both Arafat and Netanyahu to overcome the obstacles. Encouraged by his presence, the two leaders agreed to resolve their difficulties. Hussein received a standing ovation at the ceremony and praise from Clinton for interrupting his treatment and coming over.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: At home, 1998 was a difficult year for Jordanians: GDP growth had slowed considerably and could not keep pace with an accelerating population growth. Other incidents included a government scandal involving contamination of the country's water supply. Samih Batikhi, the director of the General Intelligence Directorate (mukhabarat), visited Hussein during his stay at the Mayo Clinic to keep him updated. Batikhi discredited the King's brother Hassan, and often voiced his support for Hussein's eldest son Abdullah as successor. Abdullah, who was 36 years old at the time, enjoyed great support from the army. He was crown prince when he was born in 1962, but Hussein transferred the title to his brother Hassan in 1965 due to political uncertainty back then. King Hussein had changed his line of succession a total of four times: "From his brother Muhammad, to his infant son Abdullah, to his second brother Hassan, and again to his then-grown-up son Abdullah." On his way back to Jordan in January 1999, Hussein stopped in London. Doctors advised him to rest and stay in England for a few weeks, as he was still too fragile to travel. According to Jordanian government sources, Hussein stated that:


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Upon his arrival in Jordan, after a six-month medical absence from the country, he announced he was "completely cured." Hussein returned and publicly criticized his brother Hassan's management of Jordanian internal affairs. He also accused him of abusing his powers as regent and crown prince. On 24 January 1999, Hussein replaced Hassan with his son Abdullah as heir apparent. Hassan gracefully accepted the King's decision on television, and congratulated his nephew Abdullah on his designation as crown prince.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: On 25 January, the day after he proclaimed Abdullah as crown prince, Hussein returned abruptly to the United States, after experiencing feversa sign of recurrent lymphoma. On Tuesday 2 February, the king received a bone marrow transplant, which failed. It was thereupon reported that Hussein had suffered internal organ failure, and was in critical condition. On 4 February, and at his request, he was flown to Jordan where he arrived in a coma. Fighter jets from several countries flew with his plane as it passed over their territories, including the United States, Britain, and Israel. Hussein arrived at the King Hussein Medical Center in Amman where it was raining heavily, yet thousands flocked from all over Jordan and gathered at the main entrance. The crowds chanted his name, some weeping, others holding his pictures. At 11:43 on 7 February, Hussein was pronounced dead.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein's flag-draped coffin, accompanied by honor guard troops wearing Keffiyeh, was taken on a 90-minute procession through the streets of the capital city of Amman. An estimated 800,000 Jordanians braved chilly winds to bid their leader farewell. Riot police were stationed along the nine-mile-long route to try to hold back the crowds who scrambled for a glimpse of the coffin.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: The UN General Assembly held an Emergency Special Session in "Tribute to the Memory of His Majesty the King of Jordan" on the same day. The King's funeral was held in the Raghadan Palace. The funeral was the largest gathering of foreign leaders since 1995, and it was the first time that Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad was in the same room with Israeli statesmen. Khaled Mashal was also in the same room as the Mossad leaders who had tried to assassinate him just two years earlier. Four American presidents were present: Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford. Bill Clinton said about the funeral: "I don't think I have ever seen a greater outpouring of the world's appreciation and the world's love for a human being than I've seen today." Hussein was succeeded as king by his eldest son, Abdullah II.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Israeli writer Avi Shlaim sees that the assassination of Hussein's grandfather King AbdullahI in Jerusalem was the most formative event in Hussein's life, as he had witnessed the event personally at the age of 15. Two years later, the 17-year-old schoolboy would become King. Hussein inherited the throne to a young Kingdom, whose neighbors questioned its legitimacy, along with the Jordanian-controlled West Bank. From an early age he had to shoulder a heavy responsibility. The Kingdom had few natural resources, and a large Palestinian refugee population. He was able to gain his country considerable political weight on a global scale despite its limited potential. In 1980, an Israeli intelligence report described Hussein to be as "a man trapped on a bridge burning at both ends, with crocodiles in the river beneath him." Hussein was able to survive through four turbulent decades of the Arab-Israel conflict and the Cold War, successfully balancing pressures from Arab nationalists, Soviet Union, Western countries and Israel.


title: Hussein of Jordan

text: Hussein considered the Palestinian issue to be the overriding national security issue, even after Jordan lost the West Bank in 1967 and after it renounced claims to it in 1988. Initially, Hussein attempted to unite both banks of the Jordan River as one people, but with the formation of the PLO in the 1960s, it became difficult to maintain such a policy. He was relentless in pursuit of peace, viewing that the only way to solve the conflict was by peaceful means, excluding his decision to join the war in 1967. The decision cost him half his kingdom and his grandfather's legacy. After the war he emerged as an advocate for Palestinian statehood. After renouncing ties to the West Bank in 1988, he remained committed to solving the conflict. His 58 secret meetings held with Israeli representatives since 1963 culminated in the signing of the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994, which he considered to be his "crowning achievement."