Baha Toukan

Baha Toukan
Ad-Din
بهاء الدين طوقان
Born(1910-09-09)9 September 1910
Al-Salt, Ottoman Empire
Died1972 (aged 61–62)[1]
EducationEducated in Palestine, B.A. of the American University of Beirut.
SpouseHanan Hashem (married in 1946)
ChildrenAlaa, Alia and Abdullah[2]
Jordanian Ambassador to the Lebanon
In office
1948–1948
Succeeded by1957–1958: Abdelmunim al-Rifai
Jordanian Ambassador to Egypt
In office
1948–1951
Preceded byFawzi Al-Mulki
Succeeded byAwni Abd al-Hadi
Jordanian Ambassador to Turkey
In office
1951–1954
Preceded by1949 – 1950: Hussein ibn Nasser
Succeeded by1971 and 1972: Hazem Nuseibeh
Jordanian Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office
1956 – March 11, 1958
Preceded byYousef Haikal
Succeeded byAbdelmunim al-Rifai
Jordanian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York City
In office
March 11, 1958 – October 6, 1965
Preceded byAbdelmunim al-Rifai
Succeeded byAbdelhamid Sharaf

Baha ud-din Toukan (Arabic: بهاء الدين طوقان) was a Jordanian Ambassador of Palestinian descent.

Career

Toukan joined the Arab Legion and became secretary to the Commanding Officer in 1932. Five years later, he was transferred to Court of H.R.H. Abdullah, the Emir of Emirate of Transjordan. In 1941, he was employed in Jordan as clerk in the Arab Legion and official in the Department of Education unit seconded to the BBC as an Arabic announcer.[clarification needed] BBC hired him for their London office the following year.

In 1944, he returned to Jordan. From April 1945 to August 1945, he was an Income tax Assesor of the Emirate of Transjordan. During the two-month negotiations in England in early 1946 for the Treaty of London, he was acting secretary to the Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai. He was then Mutasarrıf of the Balqa Governorate until 1947, when he became the Transjordan Consul-General in Jerusalem.

In 1948, he began a period as a Jordanian Ambassador, first in Beirut, Lebanon. He was then in Cairo, Egypt from 1948 to 1951, when he was assigned to Ankara Turkey until 1954. The following two years, he was Minister of State of foreign affairs (Under-Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs). From 1956 to March 11, 1958, he was ambassador in London.

Beginning March 11, 1958,[citation needed] he was assigned as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.[3] He made a statement during a General Assembly session that disputed the position of the Jordanian government, and it was reported that the government dismissed him shortly after that, on 1 September 1958.[4] This episode came about during a tense period following an attempt to overthrow King Hussein in April[5] and Toukan's protest against Abdel Monem Rifia, having been sent to lead the General Assembly discussions for Jordan at the U.N. Rather than being asked to continue to lead the delegation, Toukan was asked to return to Jordan.[6] He held that position, though, until October 6, 1965.

From 1962 to March 18, 1966 he was Minister of State of foreign affairs (Under-Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs).[7][8] From March 18, 1966 to 1971 he was head the mission of the Arab League en Rome.[a]

Notable published works

  • A short history of Trans-Jordan. With foreword by H.R.H. Emir Abdullah (London: Luzac & Company, 1945. - 48 p.).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ League's Rome Head Sayed Baha-al-Din Toukan, former Jordanian foreign under-secretary, arrived in Rome on 18 March to take over, as head of the Arab League's office there.

References

  1. ^ Letter signed by him on 20 January 1972
  2. ^ Jordanian Royals
  3. ^ Evan M. Duncan (2004). Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Volume V, United Nations, 1969-1972. Government Printing Office. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-16-087628-8.
  4. ^ "Amman". The Detroit Free Press. 2 September 1958. p. 29 – column 3, top. Retrieved 4 January 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Richard Dudman (13 August 1958). "Jordan Calls Home Its Envoy to U.N., Denies Split on Policy". The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 2 – column 1, top. Retrieved 4 January 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ The New York Herald Tribune - Post-Dispatch (13 August 1958). "Ambassador's Protests Boomerangs". The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 2 – column 1, bottom. Retrieved 4 January 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ The International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's who. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1953. p. 403.
  8. ^ The Middle East and North Africa. Europa Publications. 1969. p. 964.