Suleiman Nabulsi

Suleiman Nabulsi
Suleiman Nabulsi in his study
Prime Minister of Jordan
In office October 1956 – 10 April 1957
Preceded by	Ibrahim Hashem
Succeeded by	Fakhri al-Khalidi
Minister of Finance
In office 1947–1949
In office 1950–1951
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 15 April 1957 – 25 April 1957
Preceded by	Abdullah Rimawi
Personal details
Born	1908 Salt, Jordan
Died	1976 Amman, Jordan
Nationality	Jordanian
Political party	National Socialist Party

Suleiman Nabulsi (Arabic: سليمان النابلسي‎‎, 1908–1976) was a Jordanian political figure who served as Prime Minister of Jordan in 1956–57, and was the head of the first and last elected government in Jordan's history.

Nabulsi was born in Salt, Jordan in 1908, during the Ottoman period. The ancestors the Nabulsi family originally served as members of the elite Ottoman sipahi units that were sent on a 1657 expedition to bring Jabal Nablus under centralized Ottoman rule. The family soon became part of the merchant class in Nablus, hence their name Nabulsi ("from Nablus").

Suleiman Nabulsi graduated from the American University of Beirut with a degree in law and social studies in the early 1930s. Afterward, he briefly served as a teacher in Karak where he generated a "feeling of Arab brotherhood," leading the first demonstration in the city condemning the Balfour Declaration. As a result, the British authorities in the country immediately transferred him to a secondary school in his hometown of Salt. He moved to Amman in 1932. He later joined the civil service and eventually became the director of the state-owned Agricultural Bank, a post he held until 1946. In 1945, British authorities accused him of agitating in Jerusalem against a concession to a Jewish company. Upon his return to Jordan, he was arrested at the Allenby Bridge, then forcibly moved to Shoubak in southern Jordan.

From 1947 to 1949, Nabulsi served as Minister of Finance and Economy, then again from 1950 to 1951. He was jailed for nine months in the Amman Prison for writing an article condemning the 1948 Anglo-Jordanian treaty. However, like most politicians of the time, his opposition activities did not hinder his political career. When he entered into the government as finance minister in 1950, King Abdullah bestowed him on the title of "Pasha." In 1953, he was appointed Jordan's ambassador to Britain until 1954 when he returned to Amman from London. His experience there turned him into a staunch Arab nationalist and anti-Zionist. His nationalism had alienated him from King Hussein who had him exiled from the capital Amman to a provincial town. At this time, he founded the National Socialist Party (NSP) and was elected its leader. He soon became known by many of his supporters as Za'im al-Watani ("The Nationalist Leader"). In July 1956, Nabulsi gave a speech commending Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser for nationalizing the Suez Canal and stressing the importance of Nasser's leadership of the Arab world.