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Faisal II (Arabic: الملك فيصل الثاني) (May 2, 1935 – July 14, 1958) was Iraq's last king. He reigned from 4 April, 1939 until his death. 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 'Abd al-Ilah ruled as regent until Faisal came of age in 1953. As a teen, Faisal attended Harrow School in the United Kingdom with his cousin King Hussein of Jordan. The two boys were close, and reportedly planned even then to merge their two realms to counter what they considered the threat of militant pan-Arab nationalism. On February 1 1958 neighbouring Syria joined with Nasser's Egypt to form the United Arab Republic. This prompted the Hashemite kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan to strengthen their position by establishing a similar bloc. Just two weeks later, on February 14, this was signed into existence as the Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan. Faisal, as the senior member of the Hashemite family, became head of state. However, the reign of Faisal, together with the new state, came to an end a mere five months later. During the summer Hussein asked for Iraqi military assistance in Jordan. A military officer, Abdul Karim Qassim, used the resulting troop movements as the opportunity to stage a coup, capturing Baghdad and proclaiming a republic on July 14. The young king and other members of his family surrendered, but Faisal and 'Abd al-Ilah were killed by an army officer as they left the palace.
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