King Hussein: Articles, Interviews & Speeches

[maryshawn]

Oh, I think recent invention. This is a modest budget according to gentleman who wrote article as it covered so much--wages, upkeep, state visits--always pricey to present BEST image and KH and QN hosted many, many people from the US to Arafat to the royalty of Spain, England, and other Arabic countries. Staff received free housing, meals and other perks. That adds up fast. He said he was amazed "how simply" they lived when not hosting world leaders. In a Vanity Fair article in 1991 I think, this was confirmed by many Jordanian politicians and others who said the King and Queen lived more simply than many Jordanians......And while this is a budget I've presented, some of the cars, homes, etc., were gifts so I think it quite within reason.

Originally Posted by Balqis

Thanks very much Mary Shawn for this very insightful glimpse into King Hussein's and Queen Noor's life. I liked the fact that they came across like regular people in very unusual circumstances.

I can't resist the following though: talk about extravagance LOL. Were King Hussein and Queen Noor also accused of dipping into aid money or is this a recent invention?

[maryshawn]

Hmmm....well, he really liked the King and Queen and this was in the midst of many troubles in the Middle East. The King had a vast protection detail and if a "new" major didn't recognize him or his ID, he may have felt it was his duty and part of protecting him......I don't see this guy as a liar in anyway. I didn't add he was invited to Jordan after article was written to re-visit w/his family as guests of King and Queen. I do think the King was genuinely upset about the incident but he was the target of so many assasination attempts.....I can't even begin to imagine how THAT felt, to live like that. I must not be as brave.

Originally Posted by T-R-O-U-B-L-E

cud this be true?? I dunno I kinda feel this guy is making some stuff up? (or maybe I dun wanna believe all this cud happen in Jordan:( )

[Safaa Batin]

Originally Posted by T-R-O-U-B-L-E

cud this be true?? I dunno I kinda feel this guy is making some stuff up? (or maybe I dun wanna believe all this cud happen in Jordan:( )

I can't believe him any more..children with guns!!!!, completly untrue , never any time. And why?!! because he is American???!!! jordanians do not hate American people, ( nor America before Bush) Ask real american who have been in jordan - they are very secure and Jordan is peaceful country to it's guests.

[tipper]

Originally Posted by maryshawn

.....flying was one of the many ways KH and QN enjoyed their children. The played often with them and it was not unusual for them to go to Prince Ali's soccer games."

thanx, Mary, I enjoyed it alot, wish I could know more about QN and KH's every day life, a good glimse was also given by Geraldine Brooks in her book- Nine parts of desire- have u ever read it ? I noticed that ppl could talk freely about JRF in those days, we never would read something like this nowadays.

[maryshawn]

Having never been, I honestly don't know what to make of his remarks. He did say it was a particularly fractious time "All this was around the time of the Beirut bombings that killed the American marines. Another car bomb had exploded near American embassy in Amman....." Seemed there were greater than usual number of serious threats on KH's life. I would understand if the Jordanian people felt worried about his life and wanted to ensure his safety--even if it cost them their own lives. We have places even in the State I live in in the US where I have seen men and teens carrying guns.......a bit unusual but they felt needed to protect themselves. All I have seen of Jordan are beautiful photos and, of course, the sad funeral procession of KH. I don't think the major point of the piece was a criticism of any part of Jordan---that was a sentence or two on what he believed he saw. The rest was complimentary. In the end, being in a foreign country w/few friends as he was so busy working I think took its toll. It says something that after the piece came out, he still received an invitation from the King and Queen to visit again. So they didn't seem to be offended. But as you live in Jordan, I think, I will take your word as it stands. You clearly know/see more than the author. Thank you for your insights. Such comments are always helpful and provide the balance needed.
Mary Shawn

Originally Posted by Safaa Batin

I can't believe him any more..children with guns!!!!, completly untrue , never any time. And why?!! because he is American???!!! jordanians do not hate American people, ( nor America before Bush) Ask real american who have been in jordan - they are very secure and Jordan is peaceful country to it's guests.

[sommone]

Thanks MS for posting the article. It's nice of you to take the time to find these articles and post them. One hundred and seventy-five cars? Thirty-six boats? That is extravagant...I'm assuming many were gifts. I wonder what happened to all of that "wealth" after KH passed. I mean I'm sured what was left of it was divided among family. Three hundred pairs of shoes...who needs that many pairs of shoes?

[maryshawn]

Definitely, many were gifts.....but, yes, 300 pairs of shoes seemed to be a lot to you and I and many others. In certain circles, however, this is not considered abnormal. A woman in my own town in the U.S., who does not work but has lots of money obviously, showed me her closet once. I was floored, to say the least, as her "closet" consisted of three rooms--one entirely dedicated to Prada and some other designer she liked. She had shoes lined up under every outfit so she probably had more than even QN.....and saw it perfectly reasonable. Princess Diana also had a lot of shoes--at one count by her dresser, more than 400 pairs at the time of her death. One does wonder what happened to all of the boats, cars, etc. of KH. I expect they were dispersed among the family--which raises another question: Princess Diana's will explicitly stated certain things be given to certain people--but was disregarded by her family executors. I wonder who took responsibility for the distribution of KH's possessions.....I'm sure it was not just QN.

Originally Posted by sommone

Thanks MS for posting the article. It's nice of you to take the time to find these articles and post them. One hundred and seventy-five cars? Thirty-six boats? That is extravagant...I'm assuming many were gifts. I wonder what happened to all of that "wealth" after KH passed. I mean I'm sured what was left of it was divided among family. Three hundred pairs of shoes...who needs that many pairs of shoes?

[queenkat101]

I was in Jordan recently and I went to a public exhibit of King Hussein's car collection. It was shocking and baffling, the hundreds of rare and priceless cars and motorcylces. Millions and Millions of dollars worth of vehicles were in there. I recall a couple of Lambourghini's, dozens of cars from all eras, all models, colours, some had very interesting past owners, too. Some signs stated that in the case of some they were gifts, mostly from Princes of Gulf States. Plus there were the cars used on state occasions (like Hamzah's wedding) in addition to private vehicles and also little toy cars used by the Princes when they were little. I was actually quite shocked that they were put on display, because it shows just how much money was spent on frivilous things, like all those cars. It made me outraged, and I can just imagine what the average Jordanian might feel about it. I don't see how any royal family could justify the waste of money that was evident in that exhibit. And just to think that was only a fraction of the overall collection.

In terms of who owns them, I remember seeing signs posted saying something to the extent of "Prince Hamzah has graciously loaned this motorcylce for the exhibit", but that was only on a few of the items. I think it is all owned by King Abdullah. What his point was to have such an exhibit, I don't know.... was it to initimidate people by a show of his wealth and power? Does he actually believe that it is some sort of display of Jordan's History? Or was it just a pointless move that will later back-fire on him? Who knows.... but in terms of me, I was impressed by the beauty of the cars, but not by the people who bought them.... made me think a bit less of the royal family. I just cannot justify that spending.

Originally Posted by maryshawn

Definitely, many were gifts.....but, yes, 300 pairs of shoes seemed to be a lot to you and I and many others. In certain circles, however, this is not considered abnormal. A woman in my own town in the U.S., who does not work but has lots of money obviously, showed me her closet once. I was floored, to say the least, as her "closet" consisted of three rooms--one entirely dedicated to Prada and some other designer she liked. She had shoes lined up under every outfit so she probably had more than even QN.....and saw it perfectly reasonable. Princess Diana also had a lot of shoes--at one count by her dresser, more than 400 pairs at the time of her death. One does wonder what happened to all of the boats, cars, etc. of KH. I expect they were dispersed among the family--which raises another question: Princess Diana's will explicitly stated certain things be given to certain people--but was disregarded by her family executors. I wonder who took responsibility for the distribution of KH's possessions.....I'm sure it was not just QN.

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Originally Posted by queenkat101

I was in Jordan recently and I went to a public exhibit of King Hussein's car collection. It was shocking and baffling, the hundreds of rare and priceless cars and motorcylces. Millions and Millions of dollars worth of vehicles were in there. I recall a couple of Lambourghini's, dozens of cars from all eras, all models, colours, some had very interesting past owners, too. Some signs stated that in the case of some they were gifts, mostly from Princes of Gulf States. Plus there were the cars used on state occasions (like Hamzah's wedding) in addition to private vehicles and also little toy cars used by the Princes when they were little. I was actually quite shocked that they were put on display, because it shows just how much money was spent on frivilous things, like all those cars. It made me outraged, and I can just imagine what the average Jordanian might feel about it. I don't see how any royal family could justify the waste of money that was evident in that exhibit. And just to think that was only a fraction of the overall collection.

In terms of who owns them, I remember seeing signs posted saying something to the extent of "Prince Hamzah has graciously loaned this motorcylce for the exhibit", but that was only on a few of the items. I think it is all owned by King Abdullah. What his point was to have such an exhibit, I don't know.... was it to initimidate people by a show of his wealth and power? Does he actually believe that it is some sort of display of Jordan's History? Or was it just a pointless move that will later back-fire on him? Who knows.... but in terms of me, I was impressed by the beauty of the cars, but not by the people who bought them.... made me think a bit less of the royal family. I just cannot justify that spending.

we all thought what King Abdullah did with those priceless cars was so smart,and we loved the Idea. Instead of parking all these cars in the Royal court or wherever and just paying money to keep them in good shape when they dun actually use them is a waste of time and money ,so by establishin such an exhibit he managed to make some sort of profit that will help the GOvernment in some way,so he displayed most of their property to help raise money for the Gov. not to show Jordanians what a fortune they spent on cars. (Most of these cars were sent to KH as gifts!).

[Jorja Fox]

Here are pics of the late King with his ham Radios! Faisal and Abdullah used it too!:o

[Safaa Batin]

Originally Posted by Jorja Fox

Here are pics of the late King with his ham Radios! Faisal and Abdullah used it too!:o

last year I was thinking of joining a project in USA to connect these kinds of radio to the internet, people there tried to convince me to do so by telling me that it was a hoppy of king hussain and that they know people from America and all over the world who had chatted with king hussain and how much were happy that , and when I couldn't work with them they again sent me a letter, with a note at the bottom : king hussain used to like this...:p

[maryshawn]

Interesting. I wonder how much they expect to raise from proceeds........is it a perpetual exhibit? Maybe they should do a Princess Diana and auction some off for charitable causes....


Was the "love bug"--the Volkswagen KH/QN drove around Minnesota while he was at Mayo on display....he insisted it be shipped home....wonder where it is now.

Originally Posted by queenkat101

I was in Jordan recently and I went to a public exhibit of King Hussein's car collection. It was shocking and baffling, the hundreds of rare and priceless cars and motorcylces. Millions and Millions of dollars worth of vehicles were in there. I recall a couple of Lambourghini's, dozens of cars from all eras, all models, colours, some had very interesting past owners, too. Some signs stated that in the case of some they were gifts, mostly from Princes of Gulf States. Plus there were the cars used on state occasions (like Hamzah's wedding) in addition to private vehicles and also little toy cars used by the Princes when they were little. I was actually quite shocked that they were put on display, because it shows just how much money was spent on frivilous things, like all those cars. It made me outraged, and I can just imagine what the average Jordanian might feel about it. I don't see how any royal family could justify the waste of money that was evident in that exhibit. And just to think that was only a fraction of the overall collection.

In terms of who owns them, I remember seeing signs posted saying something to the extent of "Prince Hamzah has graciously loaned this motorcylce for the exhibit", but that was only on a few of the items. I think it is all owned by King Abdullah. What his point was to have such an exhibit, I don't know.... was it to initimidate people by a show of his wealth and power? Does he actually believe that it is some sort of display of Jordan's History? Or was it just a pointless move that will later back-fire on him? Who knows.... but in terms of me, I was impressed by the beauty of the cars, but not by the people who bought them.... made me think a bit less of the royal family. I just cannot justify that spending.

[maryshawn]

He was so open to so many things--including music. While introducing Noor to his favorites, she introduced him to American rock and roll and country music. Apparently, she used it to pump her energy levels up before engagements.

Originally Posted by Jorja Fox

Gee,what a pitty,missed it.Didn't know KH liked Sabah,I know he loved Fairouz,gave her awards.At his wedding to QD,he brought Farid Al Atrash,I have a rare cassett of the wedding where Farid sang to them and then said "Long live KH,long live QD,long live QZ!" His taste in music is amazing,wonder if he likes Um Kulthoum,she's my fave.

[Humera]

Anniversary of King Hussein's Death


Jordanians today mark the sixth anniversary of the passing of His Majesty King Hussein.

King Hussein, a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad, was born on Nov. 15, 1935 as the eldest son of King Talal and Queen Zein Al Sharaf. He was proclaimed King on May 2, 1952 at the age of 18.

Throughout his five-decade rule, the late King worked hard to raise the living standards of his people and during his reign infant mortality declined by 50 per cent and literacy rose by nearly 160 per cent. He also struggled tirelessly to promote peace in the Middle East and help the Palestinian people regain their legitimate rights, playing a key role in the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference. The late King's commitment to democracy, civil liberties and human rights helped make Jordan a model state in the region.

Feb. 7 also marks the day King Abdullah assumed his constitutional powers. His Majesty has continued his father's legacy, placing great emphasis on improving the economy whilst promoting democratic institutions and political pluralism. Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania married on June 10, 1993 and have two sons and two daughters. Their newborn son, Prince Hashem, was born on Jan. 30 the King's birthday.

Monday, February 7, 2005

http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews2.htm

[Reina]

This is a the remarks of President Carter and then KH during a Jordanian state visit to the U.S. It is cute.

Visit of King Hussein of Jordan Toasts at the State Dinner. June 17, 1980

Contents Public Papers of Jimmy Carter Public Papers of Jimmy Carter


THE PRESIDENT. A lot of people have accused me of inviting Their Majesties to Washington just so we could have Queen Noor visit the White House. [Laughter] That's not entirely accurate, because there are many reasons why we should want His Majesty, King Hussein, to come back to visit with us, as well as his beautiful bride and the new mother of his new child, to come with her parents and her brothers and sisters and to be with us this evening. It's a delightful experience for us, and her presence vividly demonstrates the close relationship and the unbreakable ties between our two countries.

The first time that King Hussein came to visit a President of the United States was in 1960, when President Eisenhower lived in this home. And he's been here many times since, a great leader, one who represents accurately the courage and the dynamism and the commitment and the progress of the people of Jordan.

He has led his nation over more than a quarter of a century, in good times and in dangerous times, in successful times and in disappointing times, but always with a deep commitment to what's best for his own people and the preservation of stability and peace and the honoring of human rights not only in Jordan but throughout the Middle East.

He's indeed been an inspiration to many people who have served as the leaders of other nations. This is a troubled time in the history of the world, and to have a leader like him, still young, but with deep experience, reaching out his hand of friendship and peace to those neighbors of Jordan who look to him with confidence and with admiration, is reassuring to us all.

We share a great deal in common—a commitment to the integrity of international boundaries; a commitment to the unity of nations in the Middle East, to the preservation of peace, to the security of all, and to the enhancement of those principles which guide human beings and which never change. But, at the same time, he has exhibited to a remarkable degree an ability to ensure economic progress and utilization of modern science and technology to give his people a better life.

King Hussein is a good counselor and adviser for other leaders of nations who meet with him. And although sometimes our two nations do disagree on the technique for achieving a goal, we share completely a common commitment to the same goals—to the realization of the full rights of the Palestinian people, to the security of Israel and all the nations in the Middle East, to the honoring of deep religious feelings, and to the knowledge that people of good will ultimately, with courage and with perseverance, sometimes with patience, can triumph.

We have had good discussions so far today—much better than would have been expected—because of his frankness and because of his generosity, his eagerness to understand different points of view without yielding at all on the deep principles which have guided his life and which he holds so dear. We have expressed our concern about aggression demonstrated by the Soviets' invasion of Afghanistan. We've expressed our concern about international terrorism, exhibited in Iran with the unwarranted holding of innocent Americans hostage for many months, and we've expressed our commitment to stability in the Persian Gulf region and to peace in the Middle East.

I would like to say in closing that because of his own leadership and because of geographical circumstances of his own nation, Jordan will indeed play a central role in the realization of the hopes and dreams of all who want peace and stability and freedom and security in the Middle East.

At this time, I would like to propose a toast, if you will stand and join me. To Their Majesties, King Hussein and Queen Noor, to the friendship which binds our two nations and our two people together, and to the commitment to peace and the enhancement of human rights and a better life for all those of faith and good will everywhere throughout the world.

THE KING. Mr. President, Mrs. Carter, ladies and gentlemen, my good friends:

I'd like to thank you, sir, for your kind and warm words of friendship towards both Noor and I, towards a friendship that I value, towards the ties and relations that have grown between our two nations over many years, and through good and difficult times, the ties that we treasure, for the fact that there are links of people who uphold the same ideals and principles and are dedicated towards fulfilling the same objectives for a better tomorrow which, hopefully, will bring a preservation of dignity to human beings, peace, justice, and a better life.

It's true, sir, I have had the privilege of visiting the United States over many years. I'm a firm believer and have always been dedicated to the cause of friendship between our people, a better understanding, and I'm proud to have been able to serve this objective and will continue to do so to the end of my days.

Throughout these many years and many occasions, I've had the privilege of meeting with leaders of this great Nation. I said it today, and I've said it often: throughout all these meetings, none gave me more of his time to discuss the problems of our part of the world and indicated as much of an interest in the problems that we face in the area from which I came and the determination to contribute towards solutions to those problems as have your good selves.

It is true that we may have differences in approach, but we respect your dedication to the cause of peace in our part of the world. It's a dedication that we share. We look into the future with hope, with determination, to contribute our full share for the establishment of a just and durable peace in the Middle East which will affect not only those who live there but future generations there and elsewhere in the world.

We thank you for the opportunity to be with you, to have this opportunity to discuss our problems, to discuss all matters as friends, as brethren, and I'm convinced that this opportunity will enable us to address ourselves more adequately to the challenge in the times to come. We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and warmth with which we have been received once again, almost at home and amongst friends.

Thank you very much, sir, from both Noor, myself, and all who accompanied me from Jordan on this visit to the United States. May God bless you; may your efforts always meet with success in the times to come. Thank you, Mr. Carter.

Ladies and gentlemen, please, I call upon you to rise and join me in drinking a toast to the President and Mrs. Carter, to the United States, to friendship and fruitful cooperation in serving our mutual and common objectives. To peace and a better future.

THE PRESIDENT. Thank you very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at 8:08 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the White House.

Source: Federal Register Division. National Archives and Records Service, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Jimmy Carter, 1980-1981 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1956-), pp.1125-1127

Copyright 2001, Western Standard Publishing Company. All Rights Reserved.