Farhan Shubailat (born 1911-died 1979) was a

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

, Minister of Defence, senator and mayor of

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

Career

*Born into a modest family in Tafila (southern Jordan), Farhan Shubailat was sent to the English school in

Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

and then obtained a scholarship that enabled him to enter the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

, from which he graduated in 1933. *In 1939 he was lecturer at the military academy in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, where he professed

pan-Arab Pan-Arabism () is a pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arab people in a single nation-state, consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is ref ...

ideas. *In 1946 he was chief of cabinet of King Abdullah of Jordan. Farhan Shubailat convinced King Abdullah to send his grandson Hussein to study abroad, first in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, then in England. *In 1947 he was a careful observer of the

1947 Syrian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Syria on 7 July 1947, with a second round in some constituencies on 18 July.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I'', p221 They were the first e ...

. *From 1948 to 1950 he was

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

(

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

). *From 1951 to 1952 he was Chamberlain of King

Talal of Jordan Talal bin Abdullah (26 February 1909 – 7 July 1972) was King of Jordan from the assassination of his father, King Abdullah I, on 1951 until his forced abdication in 1952. He was a member of the Hashemite dynasty. Talal was born in Mecca as th ...

, then, after the latter's abdication, member of the regency council (1952-1953). *From 1952 to 1955 he was mayor of Amman. *In 1954 he was envoy in

. *In 1955 he was Minister of Defense in the cabinet of

Sa'id al-Mufti Sa'id Pasha al-Mufti (; ; 26 June 1898 – 25 March 1989) was a Jordanian politician and diplomat who served as the 9th Prime Minister of Jordan, a position he served three terms in between 14 April 1950 and 1 July 1956. Al-Mufti lived in Jab ...

. *From 1956 to 1957 he was ambassador in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

(

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

). *In 1958 he was ambassador in Baghdad, responsible for carrying out the unification project between Jordan and Iraq. He narrowly escaped death during the military coup of 14 July 1958. *From 1959 to 1965 he was Ambassador in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

(

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

) with concurrent

Diplomatic accreditation A letter of credence (, ) is a formal Diplomatic correspondence, diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to an ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

(

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

(

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

), 1961 in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

(

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

), and 1964 in

(

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

). *On October 28, 1965 he was appointed as ambassador in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

where he was accredited from November 16, 1965 to August 28, 1967. *From to he was ambassador in

, last position before retirement. *On a Royal Decree was issued appointing Farhan Shubeilat Senator. *As one of the first senior officials of the Kingdom of Jordan, Ambassador Shubailat was very close to Kings Abdullah, Talal and then Hussein. Independent-minded, he was always perfectly loyal and deeply attached to the Hashemite dynasty, especially as it was in line with modern and moderate views. *Ambassador Farhan Shubailat's son, Dr. Gaith F. Shubailat, has served in the Jordan Army Royal Medical Services, at the King Hussein Medical Center, until his retirement in 1984 in the rank of Major General. Dr. Shubailat was instrumental in creating the Jordanian Board of Medical Specialties in 1984 and he served as its first President until 1992. He was also a senator from 1993 to 1997.

References

1911 births 1979 deaths Ambassadors of Jordan to Lebanon Ambassadors of Jordan to Iraq Ambassadors of Jordan to Libya Ambassadors of Jordan to West Germany Ambassadors of Jordan to the United States Ambassadors of Jordan to Tunisia Ambassadors of Jordan to Algeria Defence ministers of Jordan Members of the Senate of Jordan American University of Beirut alumni Mayors of Amman {{Jordan-diplomat-stub