The Hashimite Kingdom of the Jordan

Abstract

This territory, which roughly corresponds to the area of the old Seljuk Kingdom of Kerak and of the Lordship of Montreal or Oultrejourdain in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, is governed by His Majesty King Abdullah Ibn Hussein, G.C.M.G., G.B.E., born in Mecca, 1882, second son of the late King Hussein of the Hejaz and elder brother of the late King Feisal of Iraq, assisted by a Council of Ministers which was set up on 6 August, 1939. In April, 1923, a Declaration was made that subject to the approval of the League of Nations, His Majesty’s Government would recognize the existence of an independent Government in Transjordan, under the rule of His Highness the Amir Abdullah, provided such government was constitutional and placed His Britannic Majesty’s Government in a position to fulfil its international obligations in respect of the territory by means of an Agreement to be concluded between the two Governments. This agreement was signed in Jerusalem on 20 February, 1928, and having been accepted by the Legislative Assembly set up under Article 11, was ratified by the High Contracting Parties on 31 October, 1929. It was replaced, on 22 March, 1946, by a treaty signed in London between the Governments of Great Britain and Transjordan whereby Great Britain recognizes Transjordan as a sovereign independent state (Cmd. 6779). A new Anglo-Transjordan treaty was signed in Amman on 15 March, 1948. The treaty will remain in force for 20 years, but at the request of either party a revised treaty may be negotiated after 15 years (Cmd. 7404).