Editing Hussein of Jordan (section)

==Illness, death and funeral==
{{Main|Death and state funeral of Hussein of Jordan}}
[[File:Royal Jordanian 1.jpg|thumb|''Royal Jordanian 1'' is escorted on 4 February 1999 by an F-16 of the [[Minnesota Air National Guard]] during King Hussein's return to Jordan. He died 3 days later.]]

In May 1998 Hussein, a heavy smoker, was admitted to the [[Mayo Clinic Hospital (Rochester)|Mayo Clinic]], but doctors were unable to diagnose his ailment.<ref name="khiads">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/27/world/king-hussein-returns-to-us-with-possible-cancer-relapse.html|title=King Hussein Returns to U.S. With Possible Cancer Relapse|work=The New York Times|date=27 January 1999|access-date=4 September 2017|author=Douglas Jehl}}</ref> Hussein returned to the clinic in July after suffering severe fevers; doctors then diagnosed him with [[Non-Hodgkin lymphoma]].<ref name="khiads"/> He stayed in the clinic until the end of 1998, while his brother Hassan, who had been crown prince since 1965, acted as regent.<ref name="khiads"/> He was given six courses of [[chemotherapy]] for his lymph gland cancer over a five-month period.<ref name="khiads"/> Hussein gained the respect of the Mayo Clinic staff for his warmth and kindness; on one occasion, a janitor cried uncontrollably after Hussein prepared a birthday party for her in his suite.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=582–608}}

In October 1998, Bill Clinton invited Hussein, during his stay at the clinic for chemotherapy treatment, to attend the [[Wye River Memorandum|Wye Plantation talks]] after a stalemate was reached between the Israeli and Palestinian delegations.<ref name="wrptfan"/> Hussein, who looked bald and weakened, arrived and urged both Arafat and Netanyahu to overcome the obstacles.<ref name="wrptfan"/> Encouraged by his presence, the two leaders agreed to resolve their difficulties.<ref name="wrptfan"/> Hussein received a standing ovation at the ceremony and praise from Clinton for interrupting his treatment and coming over.<ref name="wrptfan">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OqIaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA166|page=166|title=Narcissism and Politics: Dreams of Glory|author=Jerrold M. Post|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date= 24 November 2014|isbn=9781107008724|access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref>

At home, 1998 was a difficult year for Jordanians: GDP growth had slowed considerably and could not keep pace with an accelerating population growth.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=582–608}} Other incidents included a government scandal involving contamination of the country's water supply.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=582–608}} Samih Batikhi, the director of the [[General Intelligence Directorate (Jordan)|General Intelligence Directorate]] (mukhabarat), visited Hussein during his stay at the Mayo Clinic to keep him updated.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=582–608}} Batikhi discredited the King's brother Hassan, and often voiced his support for Hussein's eldest son Abdullah as successor.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=582–608}} Abdullah, who was 36 years old at the time, enjoyed great support from the army.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=582–608}} He was crown prince when he was born in 1962, but Hussein transferred the title to his brother Hassan in 1965 due to political uncertainty back then.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=582–608}} King Hussein had changed his line of succession a total of four times: "From his brother Muhammad, to his infant son Abdullah, to his second brother [[Prince Hassan bin Talal|Hassan]], and again to his then-grown-up son Abdullah."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/analyzing-king-abdullahs-change-in-the-line-of-succession|title=Analyzing King Abdullah's Change in the Line of Succession|website=washingtoninstitute.org}}</ref> On his way back to Jordan in January 1999, Hussein stopped in London.<ref name="jordanembassyus.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.jordanembassyus.org/011699001.htm |title=King to address Jordanians tonight ahead of Tuesday return |publisher=Jordan embassy |date=16 January 1999 |access-date=1 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831180822/http://www.jordanembassyus.org/011699001.htm |archive-date=31 August 2006 }}</ref> Doctors advised him to rest and stay in England for a few weeks, as he was still too fragile to travel.<ref name="jordanembassyus.org"/> According to Jordanian government sources, Hussein stated that:

{{blockquote|I need very much to feel the warmth of my people around me, there is work to be done and I will get the strength from my people to finish the business.<ref>Mideastnews.com; 8 February 1999</ref>}}

Upon his arrival in Jordan, after a six-month medical absence from the country, he announced he was "completely cured".<ref name="cvoa"/> Hussein returned and publicly criticized his brother Hassan's management of Jordanian internal affairs. He also accused him of abusing his powers as regent and crown prince.<ref name="cvoa"/> On 24 January 1999, Hussein replaced Hassan with his son Abdullah as heir apparent.<ref name="cvoa">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&pg=PA25|page=25|title=The Encyclopedia of the Arab–Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History|access-date=1 November 2016|date=12 May 2008|first1=Spencer|last1=Tucker|first2=Priscilla|last2=Roberts|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781851098422}}</ref> Hassan gracefully accepted the King's decision on television, and congratulated his nephew Abdullah on his designation as crown prince.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9901/28/king.hussein.health/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010224025825/http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9901/28/king.hussein.health/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 February 2001|title=Hussein's cancer relapse prompts 10 more days of chemotherapy|publisher=CNN|access-date=4 September 2017|date=28 January 1999}}</ref>[[File:King Hussein funeral in Amman motorcade.jpg|thumb|right|Mourners line up along [[List of roads in Amman|Zahran street]] in Amman on 8 February 1999 as royal motorcade transported King's coffin.]]

On 25 January, the day after he proclaimed Abdullah as crown prince, Hussein returned abruptly to the United States, after experiencing fevers{{snd}}a sign of recurrent lymphoma.<ref name="doal">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/02/05/jordans-king-flies-home/|title=Jordan's King Flies Home|date=5 February 1999|access-date=4 September 2017|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> On Tuesday 2 February, the king received a [[Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation|bone marrow transplant]], which failed. It was thereupon reported that Hussein had suffered internal organ failure, and was in critical condition.<ref name="doal"/> On 4 February, and at his request, he was flown to Jordan where he arrived in a coma.<ref name="doal"/> Fighter jets from several countries flew with his plane as it passed over their territories, including the United States, Britain, and Israel.<ref name="doal"/> Hussein arrived at the [[King Hussein Medical Center]] in Amman where it was raining heavily, yet thousands flocked from all over Jordan and gathered at the main entrance.<ref name="bbckhisld"/> The crowds chanted his name, some weeping, others holding his pictures.<ref name="bbckhisld">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/273047.stm|title=King Hussein dies|access-date=5 September 2017|date=7 February 1999|publisher=BBC}}</ref> At 11:43 on 7 February, Hussein was pronounced dead.<ref name="bbckhisld"/>

Hussein's flag-draped [[coffin]], accompanied by [[Honor guard|honor guard troops]] wearing [[Keffiyeh]], was taken on a 90-minute [[procession]] through the streets of the capital city of [[Amman]].<ref name="khffdasd"/> Despite the cold and windy weather, an estimated 800,000 Jordanians came to pay their respects. Riot police were stationed along the nine-mile-long route to try to hold back the crowds who scrambled for a glimpse of the coffin.<ref name="khffdasd">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/09/world/death-king-overview-jordan-s-hussein-laid-rest-world-leaders-mourn.html|title=Jordan's Hussein Laid to Rest as World Leaders Mourn|author=Douglas Jehl|work=The New York Times|access-date=5 September 2017|date=9 February 1999}}</ref>

The [[UN General Assembly]] held an Emergency Special Session in "Tribute to the Memory of His Majesty the King of Jordan" on the same day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/eed216406b50bf6485256ce10072f637/50fcab40648861c0852569430054859e?OpenDocument |title=U.N. Tribute to the Memory of His Majesty King Hussein Ibn Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 8 February 1999 |publisher=UN |access-date=1 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728142629/http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/eed216406b50bf6485256ce10072f637/50fcab40648861c0852569430054859e?OpenDocument|archive-date=28 July 2011 }}</ref> The King's funeral was held in the [[Raghadan Palace]]. The funeral was the largest gathering of foreign leaders since 1995, and it was the first time that Syrian president Hafez al-Assad was in the same room with Israeli statesmen.<ref name="khffdasd"/> Khaled Mashal was also in the same room as the Mossad leaders who had tried to assassinate him just two years earlier.<ref name="khffdasd"/> Four American presidents were present: Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and [[Gerald Ford]].<ref name="khffdasd"/> Bill Clinton said about the funeral: "I don't think I have ever seen a greater outpouring of the world's appreciation and the world's love for a human being than I've seen today."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/09/world/death-king-americans-clinton-lauds-king-hussein-man-vision-spirit.html|title=DEATH OF A KING: THE AMERICANS; Clinton Lauds King Hussein As Man of Vision and Spirit|work=The New York Times|access-date=3 December 2018|date=9 February 1999}}</ref> Hussein was succeeded as king by his eldest son, Abdullah II.<ref name="khffdasd"/>