Wasfi Tal ( ar, وصفي التل; also known as Wasfi Tell; 19 January 1919 – 28 November 1971) was a

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian politician, statesman and general. He served as the 15th

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 ...

for three separate terms, 1962–63, 1965–67 and 1970 until his assassination in 1971. Tal was born in Turkey to prominent Jordanian poet Mustafa Wahbi Tal. He moved to Jordan at 5 years old. He received his education in

Al-Salt Al-Salt ( ar, السلط ''As-Salt'') is an ancient salt trading city and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa highland, about 790–1,100 metres ...

, later continuing his education at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

in 1941. He then joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

after being trained in a British-run military academy, and joined the irregular

Arab Liberation Army The Arab Liberation Army (ALA; ar, جيش الإنقاذ العربي ''Jaysh al-Inqadh al-Arabi''), also translated as Arab Salvation Army, was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in th ...

to fight against Israel during the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

. Following the war, he served various positions in the Jordanian government, rising to higher positions after his abilities captured

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

's attention. His first tenure as prime minister in 1962 was short-lived, he resigned in 1963 over widespread criticism of his perceived pro-Western views. He was appointed prime minister again in 1965, which saw an improved climate of economic activity, but resigned just before the onset of the

Six Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

in 1967. He was appointed again as prime minister in 1970 during Black September, the conflict which saw

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...

fighters (

fedayeen Fedayeen ( ar, فِدائيّين ''fidāʼīyīn'' "self-sacrificers") is an Arabic term used to refer to various military groups willing to sacrifice themselves for a larger campaign. Etymology The term ''fedayi'' is derived from Arabic: '' ...

) expelled from Jordan. Earning the ire of PLO leaders for his role in the conflict, he was assassinated by the Black September group outside a Cairo hotel hosting an

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

conference. Tal was reportedly loyal to

and popular with Jordanians for his success in expelling the fedayeen. Meanwhile, he was widely denounced by Arabs who had supported the fedayeen. His assassins were found innocent and released on bail by an Egyptian court.

Early life and career

Tal was born in

Arapgir Arapgir ( hy, Արաբկիր; ku, Erebgir) is a town and district of Malatya Province, Turkey. As of 2000 it had a population of 17,070 people. It is situated at the confluence of the eastern and western Euphrates, but some miles from the right ...

to prominent poet Mustafa Wahbi Tal and

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

mother Munifa Baban. His family relocated to

Irbid Irbid ( ar, إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in ...

when he was five. He moved to

in 1936 when he was 16 to go to the only public high school in Jordan at the time. As a student he founded a secret student organization called the "Black Hand" whose goal was to promote a more aggressive stance against Zionism. During his time as a student he and several students in the "black hand" were arrested after bombing

mayor's mansion. Due to his family influence and the fact no one was hurt in the bombing he was released a few days later and allowed to finish his education. Later continuing his education at the

in 1941. He then joined the

after being trained in a British-run military academy, and joined the irregular

to fight against Israel during the

. Due to his experience in the British army he started off with the rank of captain. After the

was dissolved in 1948 his unit was reassigned to the Syrian army for the remainder of the war under the new name Yarmuk Forces. By May 1949 he had risen to the rank of major. Following the war, he served various positions in the Jordanian government, rising to higher positions after his abilities captured

in 1967. He was appointed again as prime minister in 1970 during Black September, the conflict which saw

fighters (

) expelled from Jordan. Earning the ire of PLO leaders for his role in the conflict, he was assassinated by the Black September group outside a Cairo hotel hosting an

conference.

Assassination

On 28 November 1971, four Black September gunmen assassinated Tal in the lobby of the Sheraton Cairo Hotel in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

while he was attending an

summit in the city.Amos, 1980, p.222. Historian Patrick Seale claims that one of the assassins, Munshir al-Khalifa, was one of Abu Ali Iyad's soldiers who sought to avenge his commander's death. As Tal lay dying, "one of the assassins knelt and lapped with his tongue the blood flowing across the marble floor." Tal was the first victim of the newly formed Black September Organization, a more militant offshoot of the Palestinian militant organization

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

. His assassins were released on low bail and allowed to leave Egypt.

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

, Fatah's leader, claimed responsibility for the killing. Tal was popular with Jordanians for his success in expelling the fedayeen. Meanwhile, he was widely denounced by Arabs who had supported the fedayeen. Egyptian President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

had also despised Tal. Tal was the third senior Jordanian political figure assassinated between 1951 and 1971; the first two being

King Abdullah I AbdullahI bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبد الله الأول بن الحسين, translit=Abd Allāh al-Awwal bin al-Husayn, 2 February 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan from 11 April 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emir ...

and Prime Minister Hazza Majali. His assassins were found innocent and released on bail by an Egyptian court. Tal's body was flown back to

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

on 28 November 1971. He was buried in the royal cemetery after the prayers in the Royal Mosque in Amman on 29 November.

Personal life

Tal was married to Sadia Jabri, who had been former wife of the Palestinian leader of the 1940s,

Musa Alami Musa Alami (3 May 1897 – 8 June 1984) ( ar, موسى العلمي, ) was a prominent Palestinian nationalist and politician. Due to Alami having represented Palestine at various Arab conferences, in the 1940s, he was viewed by many as the le ...

. They had no children.

Honour

Foreign honour

* : ** Honorary Grand Commander of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...

(SMN (K)) – Tun (1965)

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tal, Wasfi Honorary Grand Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm 1919 births 1971 deaths People from Irbid Assassinated heads of government Assassinated Jordanian politicians Deaths by firearm in Egypt Agriculture ministers of Jordan Government ministers of Jordan Defence ministers of Jordan Jordanian people murdered abroad People murdered in Egypt Prime Ministers of Jordan Victims of the Black September Organization American University of Beirut alumni Jordanian military personnel Jordanian diplomats Ambassadors of Jordan to Iraq Members of the Senate of Jordan Jordanian people of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War British Army personnel of World War II 1971 murders in Asia