Quick Facts
Biography
Tawfik Abu al-Huda (Arabic: توفيق ابو الهدى) (also known as Tawfik Pasha Abul-Huda) (1894 – 1 July 1956) served several terms as Prime Minister of Jordan. First he served as Prime minister of Transjordan from September 28, 1938 to October 15, 1944, and he served another term from December 28, 1947 to April 12, 1950. Between July 25, 1951 and May 5, 1953 and from May 4, 1954 to May 30, 1955 he served as Prime Minister of Jordan. During his last term as Prime Minister, he tried to consolidate the power of King Hussein by holding parliamentary elections which many accused of being fraudulent. His terms are notable for the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, during which Transjordan conquered the West Bank, and the forced abdication of King Talal.
He served as the President of the Senate of Jordan from 1947 to 1951.
Tawfik Abu al-Huda was of Palestinian descent. He was married to the sister of the Ottoman banker in Amman.
Career
- Army officer - 1915
- Employee in Damascus - 1920
- Director of the Department of Antiquities, 1929
- Head of Procurement in Transjordan
- Director of Land Registration Directorate
- Formed his first government - 28 September 1938
- Prime Minister during World War II
- Formed his last government - 24 October 1954
In office
Abul al-Huda formed 12 governments during his service as a prime minister which lasted beyond the entire era of World War II in the Middle East.
| × | Formation | Resignation | Monarch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 September 1938 | 6 August 1939 | King Abdullah I |
| 2 | 6 August 1939 | 24 September 1940 | King Abdullah I |
| 3 | 25 September 1940 | 27 July 1941 | King Abdullah I |
| 4 | 29 July 1941 | 18 May 1943 | King Abdullah I |
| 5 | 19 May 1943 | 14 October 1944 | King Abdullah I |
| 6 | 18 December 1947 | 3 May 1949 | King Abdullah I |
| 7 | 7 May 1949 | 12 April 1950 | King Abdullah I |
| 8 | 25 July 1951 | 7 September 1951 | King Talal |
| 9 | 8 September 1951 | 27 September 1952 | King Talal |
| 10 | 30 September 1952 | 5 May 1953 | King Hussein |
| 11 | 4 May 1954 | 21 October 1954 | King Hussein |
| 12 | 24 October 1954 | 28 May 1955 | King Hussein |
Death
Tawfik Pasha was found dead, hanging in bathroom at his house in 1956 in an apparent suicide after bouts of an illness.
