King Hussein bin Talal was the King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. At the time of his death, he was the longest serving executive head of state in the world. He ascended the throne when his father, the reigning king, Talal I bin Abdullah, was forced to abdicate the throne due to health reasons in 1952. Hussein, the crown prince, was thus proclaimed the new King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Since Hussein was just 16 years old at time, a Regency Council was appointed till he came of age. King Hussein believed in maintaining peace and was not in favor of war which according to him was futile. Jordan was going through a period of strife and turmoil when he came to power, and he tried his best to bring about stability and peace in the Middle East. Because of his compassionate nature and pacifist efforts he was known to his people as the ‘Al-Malik Al-Insan’—The Humane King. Over the period of his long reign he focused on the country’s development and helped to substantially raise the Jordanians’ quality of life. During his reign Jordan achieved the world's fastest annual rate of decline in infant mortality between 1981 and 1991. He was a much respected figure all over the world and is often referred to as the father of modern Jordan.