Suleiman Nabulsi (; 1908 – 14 October 1976) was a

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

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 political figure who served as the 12th

Prime Minister of Jordan The prime minister of Jordan is the head of government of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The prime minister is appointed by the List of kings of Jordan, king of Jordan, who is then free to form his own Cabinet of Jordan, Cabinet. Th ...

in 1956–57. In October 1956 during the

1956 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1956. Africa * 1956 Gold Coast legislative election * 1956 Italian Somaliland parliamentary election * 1956–1957 Kenyan legislative election * 1956 Nyasaland general election Asia * 1956 Burmese gene ...

, the National Socialist Party headed by Nabulsi won a plurality of 16 out of 40 seats in the Jordanian

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. Subsequently,

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...

asked him to form a government; it was the first elected government in Jordan's history. Nabulsi's government was short-lived. His policies as Prime Minister frequently clashed with that of King Hussein's. Nabulsi wanted Jordan to move closer to Egypt under

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

, but Hussein wanted it to stay in the Western camp. Disagreements between the monarchy and the leftist government culminated after Nabulsi provided Hussein with an expanded list of officers in the army he wanted to dismiss. Nabulsi was forced to resign in April 1957, following an alleged coup attempt against Hussein.

Early life

Nabulsi was born 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 ...

in 1908, during the Ottoman period. The ancestors of the Nabulsi family were Arabs from central Syria who originally served as members of the elite Ottoman ''

sipahi The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...

'' units that were sent on a 1657 expedition to bring Jabal Nablus under centralized Ottoman rule. The family soon became part of the merchant class in

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

, hence their name ''Nabulsi'' ("from Nablus"). Suleiman Nabulsi graduated from 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 ...

with a degree in law and social studies in the early 1930s. Afterward, he briefly served as a teacher in Karak where he generated a "feeling of Arab brotherhood," leading the first demonstration in the city condemning the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

. As a result, the British authorities in the country immediately transferred him to a secondary school in his hometown of Salt. He moved to

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 ...

in 1932. He later joined the civil service and eventually became the director of the state-owned Agricultural Bank, a post he held until 1946. In 1945, British authorities accused him of agitating in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

against a concession to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

company. Upon his return to Jordan, he was arrested at the Allenby Bridge, then forcibly moved to

Shoubak Shoubak () is a municipality that lies at the northwestern edge of the Ma'an Governorate in Jordan. It had a population of 19,297. At one of the highest elevations above sea level in Jordan, this municipality is famous for apple and fruit farms. T ...

in southern Jordan.

Political career

In 1947, Nabulsi served as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, then again from 1950 to 1951. He was jailed for nine months in the Amman Prison for writing an article condemning the 1948 Anglo-Jordanian treaty. However, like most politicians of the time, his opposition activities did not hinder his political career. When he entered into the government as finance minister in 1950, King Abdullah bestowed him on the title of "Pasha." In 1953, he was appointed Jordan's ambassador to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

until 1954 when he returned to Amman from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. His experience there turned him into a staunch

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

and

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

. His nationalism had alienated him from

who had him exiled from the capital Amman to a provincial town. At this time, he founded the National Socialist Party (NSP) and was elected its leader. He soon became known by many of his supporters as ''Za'im al-Watani'' ("The Nationalist Leader"). In July 1956, Nabulsi gave a speech commending Egyptian president

for nationalizing the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

and stressing the importance of Nasser's leadership of the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. Nabulsi entered his party into an electoral alliance with the Jordanian Regional Branch of the

Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...

and Jordanian Communist Party to form the National Front (NF) which called for freeing Jordan of foreign influence, political, economic, and military cooperation with Arab nationalist states, and aiding other Arab states with their fight against imperialism. They failed in their attempt to gain a majority in the 40-member Jordanian parliament, allegedly due to poll rigging by King Hussein's allies. However, they did win twelve seats, making it the largest bloc, and as leader of the NF, Nabulsi managed to prevent Jordan from entering the Central Treaty Organization (Baghdad Pact) alliance in 1955, then succeeded in getting Hussein to dissolve the parliament.

Prime Minister of Jordan

In the October 1956 parliamentary elections, the NF won 16 seats and Nabulsi was asked by Hussein to form a government. Thus, he became prime minister and as one of his first measures, he merged the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...

with the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

-dominated National Guard, creating a 35,000-strong Jordanian Army. Two days after his ascension to government, Egypt was invaded by a tripartite alliance consisting of Britain,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. While an enraged King Hussein favored militarily assisting Egypt, Nabulsi called for a delay to wait for the results of the invasion. Eventually, Hussein agreed not to help militarily. The conflict ended with an Egyptian political victory and the ultimate withdrawal of the coalition from the Suez, which Jordan didn't participate in due to Nabulsi's stance. Nabulsi also decided to establish diplomatic relations with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and allowed the Communist Party to publish a weekly newspaper. However, on 2 February 1957, the king warned against this in a speech directed to Nabulsi, saying "We want this country to be inaccessible to Communist propaganda and Bolshevik theories."Lesch, pp.125-126. Heeding to Hussein's request, Nabulsi ordered the Communist Party organ to be banned. Nabulsi was known to be an admirer of Nasser, and so called for Jordan to join an Arab federation with Egypt and Syria thereby reducing King Hussein to a figurehead. Relations between the cabinet and the king were further strained when Hussein dispatched personal envoys to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, and

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

in March 1957 with messages not vetted by the government. In response, Nabulsi presented the king with formal requests to retire senior public servants, threatening his cabinet would resign and take to the streets if the requests were refused. Hussein initially appealed, but after Nabulsi prepared a new list, Hussein sent him a letter warning him that he would be dismissed. On 8 April, an army brigade commanded by Nader Rashid, an Arab nationalist officer, departed from its garrison in Zarqa — under orders from the nationalist chief of staff, Ali Abu Nuwar, and without authorization from Hussein — and positioned itself to control the access road to the capital

. Upon hearing of the brigade's movements, Hussein ordered they retreat back to their base, to which they complied. Hussein viewed Nuwar and Rashid's actions as part of a conspiracy to topple him and enter a union with the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...

. Two days later, Nabulsi was pressured to hand in his resignation by senior royalist officials, which he did. On April 15, a new cabinet was formed by Fakhri al-Khalidi and Nabulsi was given the post of foreign minister. Tensions between Arab nationalist and royalist officers began to increase as did public unrest, with nationalists and leftists demanding the reinstatement of Nabulsi as Prime Minister and royalists and Islamists backing Hussein. On 22 April, Nabulsi attended the Patriotic Congress in

, which brought together opponents of the monarchy. The conference called for a federation with the United Arab Republic, the establishment of a 16-member presidential council, a purge of "traitors and conspiratorial (''sic'' elements)" and a general strike to pressure Hussein. Upon pressure from the army, under complete control of the royalists after Abu Nuwar's exile by Hussein a few days prior, Nabulsi handed in his resignation for a second time on 23 April. Mass protests in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and Amman ensued the next day demanding his return. Hussein declared martial law on 25 April; all political parties were banned and Nabulsi was put under house arrest without being charged. He was pardoned by Hussein and released on 13 August 1961. In 1968, the National Gathering party was formed in Jordan with Nabulsi as its leader. It included the members of banned political parties. On 28 April 1968, Nabulsi headed the Jordanian parliamentary delegation to Arab Parliament Conference in Cairo. Receiving Soliman Al Nabulsi the former Jordanian Prime Minister and head of the Jordanian delegation at the Parliamentary Conference
Nasser Bibalex from Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

References

Bibliography

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External links