HASSAN OF JORDAN (1947–)

Royal prince and former crown prince (1965–1999) of Jordan. Hassan ibn Talal al-Hashem is the son of King Talal and the younger brother of King Hussein. He has a degree in history and economics from Oxford University. On 1 April 1965 King Hussein designated him crown prince of the Hashimite kingdom in place of King Hussein's son, Abdullah, who was three years old. In 1968, while studying in England, Hassan married the daughter of the Pakistani ambassador to London. When he returned to his country, King Hussein assigned him economic and administrative duties. In July 1970 he founded the Jordan Scientific Academy and two years later a commercial bank, the Housing Bank. He also participated in establishing the Century Corporation Industry Group. In June 1976 King Hussein entrusted him with reorganizing the Jordanian administration. In 1980 he founded the Academy for Research on Islamic Civilization and then the Arab Forum (al-Muntada al-Arabi). In April 1989, while he was in charge of the regency during his brother's absence, his success in dealing with five days of rioting strengthened his credibility among the Jordanian people. Between 1992 and 1997 his involvement in the affairs of his country became more and more noticeable. He participated in Jordanian-Israeli peace negotiations, as well as in various conferences on economic development in the Middle East.

In July 1998 King Hussein was hospitalized in the United States; during that time he gave Hassan control of the regency, which Jordanians saw as a transfer of power. Hassan's direct interference in certain internal matters led to conflicts with a number of highly placed Jordanian leaders. On 23 January 1999, after returning from the United States, King Hussein stripped Hassan of the titles of prince regent and crown prince, giving them to his eldest son, Prince Abdullah, who succeeded him as Abdullah II on 7 February. Hassan holds no official position. He is the chairman of a think tank called the Arab Thought Forum and is involved with the World Conference on Religions for Peace, a private group based in New York. In early 2004 he was rumored to have ambitions to restore the Hashimite dynasty

to the throne of Iraq, with himself as king, but he has denied this.

SEE ALSO Hashim, al-;Hussein ibn Talal;Talal ibn Abdullah.