Jordanian royalty, crowned the King of Jordan at age 17 and the longest ruling leader in the Middle East. His grandfather, King Abdullah, was assassinated on 20 July 1951, and his father, who was a schizophrenic, was crowned two months later, on 6 September 1951. After ruling for two years, Talal was forced by his condition to step down, and Hussein was crowned king on 2 May 1953. As a survivor of four Arab-Israeli wars, he revitalized Jordan’s economy and played a crucial role in peace negotiations. His books include his autobiography, Uneasy Lies the Head (1962) and My ‘War’ With Israel (1969).
Under Hussein’s rule, Jordan was transformed from a desert expanse into an island of stability in the volatile MidEast. The king had held his power through wars and revolts and left Jordan more prestigious and more prominent than its population, wealth or strength might have merited.
His first wife was Princess Dina Abdel Hammid; they had one daughter, Alia. They divorced in 1957 after 18 months. Four years later he wed Toni Gardiner, 20, a British army officer’s daughter who became known as Princess Muna. They had Prince Abdullah in 1962 and Prince Feisal in 1963 and twins Zein and Aisha in 1969; they divorced in 1972. His third wife, in 1972 was Queen Alia Toukan, 24, with whom he had Princess Haya, 1974, Prince Ali, 1975, and adopted son Abir. It was a deep love match and when she died in a helicopter crash in 1977, Hussein was distraught. His fourth marriage, on 15 June 1978, was to a U.S. citizen named Elizabeth Halaby (born 23 August 1951, Washington, DC); the marriage took place after a one-month courtship. After the marriage to the king, Halaby became Queen Noor al-Hussein. Together, the couple had four children, Prince Hamzah, 1980, Prince Hashim, 1981, Princess Iman, 1983 and Princess Raiyah, 1986. Hussein had a total of eleven children.
After six months of treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Hussein returned to his county on 19 January 1999, reportedly fully recovered from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Within days, he turned over the temporary operation of Jordan to his eldest son, Prince Abdullah, and flew back to the U.S. for emergency medical care.
When a bone transplant failed, he returned to his country to die. On 5 February 1999, his kidneys failed and he was brain-dead, but was kept on life support while the change-over of power was initiated. He was declared dead on 6 February 1999 at 11:43 AM in Amman, aged 63, and the powers of the monarchy passed to his oldest son, Abdullah.
Link to Wikipedia biography