Word: diplomatic
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...living abroad with his parents (his father now works in Saudi Arabia), attending a boarding school in Switzerland. Somehow, he chose to return to where he grew up, to enroll in his father's alma mater, the University of Wyoming, thinking of becoming a diplomat. Short and slight, he knew he fit a gay stereotype. And while open, he was cautious. But just days before he died, he told a friend that he finally felt safe...
After the disastrous Six-Day War in 1967, Hassan took charge of rebuilding Jordan's economy and settling Palestinian refugees. On economic issues, he is passionate and smart. "He likes to call people in to talk about tariff reduction," says a Western diplomat in Amman. "He's fascinated by details, whereas the king's eyes will glaze over." In 1972, Hassan established the Royal Scientific Society, a think tank that has produced some of Jordan's leading economic experts. A proponent of IMF-style adjustments, Hassan currently oversees a program of cautious reform, including price decontrols and bank liberalizations...
...improving his aloof image. No longer does the prince approach crowds with his hands behind his back, as he once did. Now, his arms are outstretched in the manner of the King--and a politician. "These days he can glad-hand like the best of them," says the diplomat. But, says a palace official, "the King relates to the people instinctively, while Hassan tries to understand them always through his mind. When Hussein goes into a Bedouin tent, he enters as if he's a member of the family. Hassan goes in as a very polite guest...
...domestic and foreign policies, though he cannot do so without the daily support of Fahd and other senior princes. The result is a change in presentation if not in policy: whereas Fahd has always been cunning and nonconfrontational, Abdullah has built a reputation for bluntness. Says an Arab diplomat in Washington: "Abdullah won't say to an American politician, 'Hey, buddy, let's talk about buying some of your planes,' just to make the guy feel good, with no intention of buying them...
...would only embolden the Kosovo Liberation Army, then at the peak of its strength and demanding an independent state, which Washington opposed. Clinton was too distracted to knock bureaucratic heads or force the allies to carry out their threat. The indecision "proved to be a disaster," says a U.S. diplomat. "Milosevic took the measure of the West and decided he could take advantage...