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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Focus Economy Opinion Culture Features Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters New heir to the Hashemite throne
By Lola KeilaniJordanians were very attentive early Tuesday morning to the contents of two royal messages: the first said Crown Prince Hassan would not succeed King Hussein; the second appointed Hussein's eldest son, Prince Abdullah, as the heir to the throne.
On the day the state-run television aired the contents of the letter in which Hussein announced and explained the new changes, he flew to the United States for urgent medical treatment after suffering what his doctor described as a possible recurrence of cancer.
Hussein left for the US after a brief ceremony at Amman Airport to swear in Abdullah as regent in his absence. Hours earlier, Abdullah, 36, was sworn in as crown prince at the palace.
Jordanian King Hussein (left) embraces his eldest son Crown Prince Abdullah at theRoyal Palace in Amman on Tuesday before returning to the US for further treatment (photo: Reuters)
In his letter, Hussein listed several reasons for the dramatic shift in the fortunes of his brother. They included: his brother's stall tactics in responding to the king's request to immediately name one of Hussein's sons to be the heir apparent; Hassan's interference in the Armed Forces; slandering and spreading rumours by Hassan's aides against Queen Nour; mistreatment of the king's sons; and an attempt to pension off some high-ranking army officers known to be very loyal to the king, including Field Marshal Kaabneh, the highest-ranking army commander.
The king stated that he would have abdicated this year in favour of Hassan had such developments not occurred.
Hassan, in his very short reply, reacted with typical Hashemite obedience, expressing his total respect for whatever his older brother wished. "For me," Hassan said, "you are a father, a brother, and a friend. I do acquiesce, submit to and obey your command Sir."
According to political observers, this sudden turn of events is not expected to cause any rift within the ruling family since it has always acceded to whatever the reigning monarch sees as necessary.
"The decree will not reflect negatively on the cohesive nature of special traditional bonds that cement the loyalty of the Jordanian Hashemite family together," a political observer told Al-Ahram Weekly. "In contrast to ruling Gulf families whose numbers are in the hundreds, the Hashemites here are very few. Thus their survival depends on rallying to each other's side."
Prince Abdullah, in contrast to Oxonian intellectual Hassan, is a professional soldier who served in the Jordanian army and was coached for three years before becoming head of the Royal Guards, military intelligence, the elite crack paratroopers and special military operations.
Hussein presaged the latest developments by preparing public opinion here through leaks, television interviews and a 30-minute talk to CNN which was not fully aired to the public until four hours before the changes were announced. Appearing with CNN's Larry King, Hussein made clear that a change of crown princes would take place.
The king referred to his brother as "my deputy", rather than the usual title of "crown prince", a reference which was not considered a slip of the tongue.
The king, who returned to Jordan last week following six months of chemotherapy treatment in the US, said his decision in 1965 to appoint Prince Hassan as crown prince was prompted by the fact that "there was no substitute but to find a close member of the family to take over." At that time of regional upheaval and instability, Prince Abdullah was only three. The monarch was very explicit in stating that he intended to uphold the original constitutional article which states that the legitimate heir to the throne be the king's eldest son.
Some political observers had predicted the appointment of Abdullah since it did not require any constitutional amendments. "Such a decision maintains the legal integrity of the constitution since it specifies the inherent right of the eldest son to the throne as well as his prerogative to appoint a brother," a political observer told the Weekly.
The text of the original 1952 constitution stipulated that the Hashemite crown "shall pass from the holder of the throne to his eldest son." The article was amended in 1965 to allow for the appointment of Prince Hassan as crown prince. Moreover, an article was appended to the constitutional amendments, upon Hussein's request, that gives the head of state the prerogative to select one of his brothers as heir to the throne.
According to Article 28 of the constitution regarding the succession to the throne, Abdullah is constitutionally entitled in the future to appoint his younger brother Hamzeh as the crown prince. But such a decision must be endorsed by a newly created council of the "Elders of the Hashemites" which Hussein has always advocated.
Nineteen-year-old Hamzeh is currently following in his father's footsteps. He is being trained at Sandhurst, in the United Kingdom, following his graduation from Harrow. In his TV announcement, the king mentioned that Hamzeh was the only son he had who spent much of the past six months at his bedside at the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota. Hamzeh, who donated blood to his father during treatment, was singled out for commendation by the king following his return.
In an unprecedented move, King Hussein last year published a letter addressed to the nation on the occasion of Hamzeh's 18th birthday. It read, "I was your age [Hamzeh] when I became king." It was obvious at the time that Hamzeh was the favourite of Hussein's five sons and that he was sending an indirect signal to the people of Jordan.
Jordan has had many crown princes in its history. Prince Mohamed, the king's older brother, was announced crown prince in August 1952, when Hussein acceded to the throne. When the king had his first son in 1962 from British-born Princess Muna, the new-born Abdullah immediately replaced his uncle as crown prince. In 1965, the king stripped his three-year-old son of the title and announced Hassan as the crown prince who held the title uninterrupted for 34 years ending this week.
