Said Mufti; Former Jordanian Prime Minister

Said Mufti, about 90, a former Jordanian prime minister who helped lead his country into becoming an independent kingdom. Mufti was one of Jordan’s best-known citizens during its 68-year history. The nation existed first as an emirate under British protection and later as an independent monarchy. A strong nationalist, Mufti balked at a 1928 constitutional agreement with Britain, arguing that it gave away too much influence on Jordanian affairs to the British. Under a League of Nations mandate Britain had been responsible for the old state of Trans-Jordan, which became the independent monarchy of Jordan in 1926. Later, as prime minister from April to December, 1950, Mufti opposed negotiations with Israel. In a second term, beginning in 1956, he opposed the Baghdad Pact, a U.S.-supported plan to create a belt of anti-Communist nations from Turkey to Iran. Mufti had served in Jordanian cabinets from 1929 until the early 1960s, often as deputy prime minister or interior minister. The state-run Jordanian television network reported Mufti’s death but did not say how old he was or where he had died. The network did say he died Saturday.