Abdullah I bin Al Hussein

Abdullah I bin Al-Hussein was the first ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 1946 to 1951. He was born in Mecca in 1882, as the second son of Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca. He was educated in Istanbul and joined the Arab nationalist movement in 1914. He played a key role in secret negotiations with the British that led to the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1916. He personally led guerrilla raids on Ottoman garrisons and became a close ally of the British. He became the emir of Transjordan in 1921, after the British carved out a territory for him from the Palestine mandate. He upheld his alliance with the British during World War II and became the king of Jordan after Transjordan gained independence in 1946. He was the only Arab leader who accepted the United Nations partition plan of Palestine in 1947. He annexed the West Bank and east Jerusalem after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which angered his Arab rivals who supported a Palestinian state. He was assassinated by a Palestinian nationalist in Jerusalem in 1951, while attending Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Talal.