Mohammad Daoud was born in Silwan, Jerusalem, Palestine. He worked as a police officer in Tulkarm which was a part of Jordan until after 1948. In 1952, he became a member of the Jordanian delegation of the Jordanian/Israeli Mixed Armistice Commission. He held the position of Presidency of the joint Jordanian delegation in 1958 until the war of 1967. He was taken to jail by the Israeli army for 17 days then deported to Amman, Jordan. He continued working as a head of the Jordanian/Israeli Mixed Armistice Commission until 1970.
On September 16, 1970, King Hussein of Jordan declared martial law and appointed Brigadier Mohammad Daoud as Prime Minister to lead the first military government in Jordan. Despite efforts to defuse the tension between the Jordanian army and the Palestinian movements, between 16 and 25 September 1970, the escalating conflict resulted in the death of thousands and this conflict became known as Black September. An Arab League Summit Committee assigned Kuwaiti Minister of DefenseSaad Al-Sabah, Sudanese head of stateGaafar Nimeiry, and the Deputy Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Omar Al-Saqqaf to investigate and report back the cause of the clash to the Arab summit. Meanwhile, the Arab League held a meeting for all the head of Arab states in Cairo. King Hussein assigned Mohammad Daoud to join the summit. After 10 days only as a prime minister, on 24 September, out of frustration and pressure after being unable to avoid this developing conflict and the devastating results, Mohammad Daoud submitted his resignation from his position to the Jordanian Ambassador in Cairo, Hazem Nuseibah. Mohammad Daoud requested political asylum in Cairo, following his resignation. President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt asked Mohammad Daoud to stay in Cairo for consultation of Jordanian affairs. The timing of this resignation amidst all the turbulent and rapidly developing events at that time came as a surprise to many, and there is no doubt that it had a dramatic impact in ending the military conflict in Jordan at a faster pace.
Illness and death
Mohammad Daoud was hospitalized in Cairo towards the end of 1971 being diagnosed with a brain tumor, and was sent later to Paris to undergo brain surgery. On 10 January 1972, he returned to the Military Hospital in Amman, Jordan and died 9 days later, on Wednesday 19 January. His body was transferred from Amman to Jerusalem through Allenby Bridge after a formal funeral ceremony. A prayer was conducted at al-Aqsa mosque on Friday, 21 January 1972. He was buried at his home town Silwan as he had wished, the town where he was born and originally grew up.
