King Hussein I

Said to be a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad, King Hussein I was the longtime ruler of the nation of Jordan. Schooled in Egypt and at the British Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, the 18-year-old Hussein took the throne in 1953 following the death of his grandfather, King Abdullah. After some difficult years early in his reign, Hussein became known as a moderating force in the Middle East, with strong ties to many Arab leaders and to western nations. In 1998-99, the king spent six months in the U.S. being treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; he succumbed to the disease in February of 1999, leaving his eldest son Abdullah II as his successor.