Faisal II (
May 2,
1935 -
July 14,
1958) was the last
king of Iraq from
April 4,
1939 to
1958. He was the son of the second
king of Iraq,
Ghazi, who was killed in an automobile accident when Faisal was three. For most of his reign his uncle,
Abdul Illah[?] ruled as regent (until
1953). As a teen, Faisal studied at
Harrow in the United Kingdom, together with his cousin King
Hussein of
Jordan. The two boys were close, and reportedly planned even then to merge there two realms in order to counter what they considered the militant
pan-Arab[?] nationalism coming from
Nasser's Egypt. Once the two men came of age, plans proceeded to unite their kingdoms. This was achieved in February
1958, when Faisal, as the senior member of the
Hashemite family, became the king of the newly created
Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan[?]. The plan foundered when Hussein requested Iraqi military assistance, and the Iraqi army marched into Baghdad and proclaimed a republic. Though he was promised safe conduct into exile, the army exxecuted the young king and the family that had gathered around him. Among the officers participating in the extermination squads was
Saddam Hussein.