Zaid ibn Shaker

Zaid ibn Shaker, GBE, CVO (4 September 1934 – 30 August 2002) (الامير زيد بن شاكر) was a Jordanian military officer who served as the commander-in-chief of the Jordanian military for more than twelve years and the 27th Prime Minister of Jordan three times.

Ibn Shaker was born on September 4, 1934, in Amman.

His father, Shakir Ibn Zaid, had participated in the Arab Revolt, where he led a group of tribal levies, as well as in the Al-Khurma dispute.

At the Battle of Turbah, during the conflict between the Sharifian Caliphate and Ibn Saud, Ibn Shakir's father saved the life of Prince Abdullah (later King Abdullah I) by providing him a horse and camel to escape.

Zaid's father had likewise served with T.E. Lawrence, who described him as a "brave and courageous soldier".

Ibn Shaker would go on to be educated at Victoria College in Alexandria.

Ibn Shaker would eventually be married and have two sons: Shaker and Nasreen.

Ibn Shaker was trained at Sandhurst in the early 1950's, where he met Hussein, and during this time the two became close friends.

Returning to Jordan in 1956, Ibn Shaker was among a group of officers who participated in the Arabization of the Jordanian Army command.

During the Zarqa incident, when Shaker was Hussein's aide-de-camp, he was sent to the Zarqa barracks to ascertain the situation.

He found anarchic conditions, with rumors circling that the king had been assassinated, and uncertainty regarding individual loyalties.

The arrival of the king eventually quelled confusion, and order was restored.

In 1957 and 1958 he was the assistant military attache at the Embassy of Jordan in London.

He served in a number of positions in the Jordanian military, including being a tank commander at both the brigade and division level.

In 1957, he was appointed as an assistant to the Jordanian military attache in Britain, and would hold that position until 1958.

Ibn Shaker was in charge of the 60th Armored brigade, then stationed in the Ain Qilt-Jericho area, which was, along with the 40th Armored Brigade, one of the key armored units in the Arab nations' Western Command.

Eventually, the 60th Armored was moved south to Hebron, while the 40th Armored was moved north to Jericho.

This was based on the idea that the Syrians would move in to support the northern end, while Egypt would move in to support the southern end - neither event materialized.

When the Israelis launched their preemptive attack, the Jordanians suffered greatly from the Israeli air superiority.

The 60th Armored Brigade alone lost half of its eighty tanks, mostly to air attacks.

The air attacks were so severe that Ibn Shaker recalled nearly being killed by napalm:

"When you're strafed you have to jump out of your vehicle - I was in a Land Rover - and throw yourself in a ditch. They hit the wireless car behind me. They used a lot of napalm. A napalm bomb ricocheted on the asphalt near me, went about 200 yards and exploded. God was on my side."

During the War of Attrition, Ibn Shaker was stationed on the border between Israel and Jordan.

Although he was opposed to Palestinian activities against Israel, he was also opposed to Israeli attacks on Jordanian soil.

In 1963, he would attend the Command and General Staff College in the United States.

Afterward, he would command the 1st Infantry Regiment,

In the events leading up to the war in 1967, Jordanian public opinion was strongly in favor of war.

Ibn Shaker commented at a press conference in May of that year, "If Jordan does not join the war a civil war will erupt in Jordan."

By the time conflict broke out, Jordanian forces were under the command of Egyptian General Abdul Munim Riad.

On March 20, 1968, while gazing out at the Israeli side, he noticed the oncoming attack.

"They were massing their forces," he would later say, "and not even bothering to hide their attack."

He went to Karameh and inspected the Palestinian positions there.

Assured that they were prepared, he went back to Amman to attend the birthday party of Crown Prince Hassan ibn Talal, the king's brother.

In June 1987 he was made field marshal.

Being a Hashemite, Zaid ibn Shaker's family had always been close to the Royal family, and Zaid ibn Shakir himself had been personally linked with King Hussein throughout his military career.

In addition to his high palace position, he also filled a then newly created post of adviser to the king on national security, which implied that Zaid bin Shaker would retain considerable influence over military policies.

King Hussein awarded him the non-hereditary title prince on 4 February 1996.

Field Marshal General of the Army Sharif Zaid ibn Shakir was a cousin of King Hussein.

He joined the military and served with the future King Hussein.

On 8 January 1996 he was made chief of staff for the armed services, which post he held until resigning in 1988.