86. Editorial Note
On December 6, General Sir Gerald Templer, Chief of the British Imperial General Staff, accompanied by Michael Rose, Head of the Levant Department of the British Foreign Office, arrived in Amman for discussions with King Hussein and Jordanian officials. The visit, which lasted until December 14, was motivated primarily by United Kingdom desire to facilitate Jordan’s early adherence to the Baghdad Pact. [Page 212] The Templer visit prompted the resignation on December 14 of Prime Minister Said al-Mufti and four members of his cabinet in protest over the British proposals. King Hussein then asked Haza al-Majali, a proponent of the Pact, to form a new government. Demonstrations against the new government and the Baghdad Pact broke out on December 18 in Amman, Jericho, and Hebron, forcing al-Majali to resign the following day. Hussein, in turn, issued a decree dissolving Parliament and calling for a general election within four months and asked Ibrahim Hashim, President of the Jordanian Senate, to form a caretaker government to rule until the new elections. Regarding these events and their aftermath, see volume XIII, pages 9 ff.