A series of Anglo-Transjordanian treaties between 1928 and 1946 led to full independence for Transjordan. On March 22th 1946 the British mandate ended. Two months later, on May 25th 1946, the parliament proclaimed Abdullah from the Hashemite family king. They also officially changed the name of the country from the Emirate of Transjordan to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Prior to the UN General Assembly’s November 1947 decision to partition Palestine, King Abdullah proposed sending the Arab Legion. Immediately after the proclamation of the state of Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Iraq sent troops to join the Jordanians. However, the attacks were uncoordinated. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War came to an end in 1949 in the Rhodes Conference.

In 1950 Jordan annexed the West Bank and united the two banks of the Jordan River. The Kingdom of Jordan now included nearly one and a half million people, more than half a million of whom were refugees from Palestine.

On July 20th 1951 King Abdullah was killed near the al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem when he wanted to participate in the Friday prayers. He was accompanied of his grandson Prince Hussein, but the Prince survived.

The Jordanian throne passed to Crown Prince Talal, the king’s eldest son. Due to health reasons, King Talal abdicated the throne less than a year later, on August 11th 1952, in favour of his eldest son Prince Hussein.

On June 5th 1967 began the Six-Day-War. When the final UN cease-fire was imposed on June 11th, Israel had possession of wide parts of land, including the Egyptian Sinai, Syria’s Golan Heights, the West Bank - including Arab East Jerusalem - and the Gaza Strip. As a result of the war, more than 300,000 Palestinian Arabs became refugees and fled to Jordan.

On June 5th 1967 began the Six-Day-War. When the final UN cease-fire was imposed on June 11th, Israel had possession of wide parts of land, including the Egyptian Sinai, Syria’s Golan Heights, the West Bank - including Arab East Jerusalem - and the Gaza Strip. As a result of the war, more than 300,000 Palestinian Arabs became refugees and fled to Jordan.

In 1970 major clashes broke out between government forces and Palestinian guerrillas resulting in thousands of casualties in civil war remembered as Black September.

The Palestinian problem re-emerged as a major factor in Jordanian politics with the onset of the first Intifada in 1987. More refugees came to Jordan, this time from Iraq, when the Gulf War of 1991 started.

First elections of the House of Deputies were held in 1989 after 22 years, Since then, general elections have been held in 1993, 1997, 2003 and are due to be held in November 2007. In 1992 King Hussein legalised political parties.

On September 13th 1993, the PLO and Israel signed their Declaration of Principles (Oslo I), outlining a negotiating framework to lead to a final status treaty between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

This opened the road for Jordan to proceed on its own negotiating track with Israel. On July 25th 1994, King Hussein met with Israeli Prime Minister Rabin in the Rose Garden of the White House, where they signed the Washington Declaration, formally ending the 46-year state of war between Jordan and Israel. The Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty was signed on October 26th 1994, at the southern border crossing of Wadi ‘Araba.

On December 24th 1998 King Hussein decided to designate as Crown Prince his eldest son Abdullah. King Hussein died few weeks later, on February 7th 1999. He was succeeded by King Abdullah II.

In the last years Jordan has opened his economy. It acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000 and participated in the European Free Trade Association in 2001.

In the wake of the suicide bombings in Amman in 2005, the king declared that security and stability were top priorities and called for a strategy to deal with the "changed circumstances".


Sources:
Website of King Hussein, BBC News, Lexicorient, Library of U.S. Congress