After the loss of Mecca, Sharif Ali's parents settled in Iraq where the sister of his mother Badiya was queen consort. He was born in Iraq and his maternal first cousin was Faisal II of Iraq, the last king of Iraq, his maternal grandfather was Ali bin Hussein, last king of Hejaz, and his paternal grandfather is the uncle of both Faisal I of Iraq and Ali bin Hussein. 'Abd al-Ilah is his uncle. On July 14, 1958, when Colonel Abdul Karim Qassim took control of the Kingdom of Iraq by a coup d'état, the royal family was ordered to leave the palace in Baghdad: King Faisal II; Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah; Princess Hiyam, Abdul Ilah's wife; Princess Nafissa; Abdul Ilah’s mother, Princess Abdiya, the king’s maternal aunt; and several servants. When they all arrived in the courtyard, they were told to turn towards the palace wall, and they were all shot down by Captain Abdus Sattar As Sab’, a member of the coup led by Colonel Abd al-Karim Qasim. Nuri as-Said, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Iraq, was killed by supporters of Colonel Abd al-Karim Qasim on July 15, 1958. Ali bin al-Hussein's mother Princess Badia, the daughter of King Ali and aunt of King Faisal II, her husband Sharif al-Hussein bin Ali, and their three children spent a month in the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Baghdad. The coup leaders insisted that they leave Iraq and travel to Egypt on ordinary passports. They lived for a while in Lebanon and finally in London, where Ali bin al-Hussein built up a successful career in investment banking.
Ali bin Al-Hussein remained an opponent of the rule of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. In 1991, he quit his job managing investment funds and became a member of the Iraqi National Congress, which had the purpose of fomenting the overthrow of Hussein. On October 28, 2003, representing the Iraqi National Conference Bloc, Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein met Syria's Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa in Damascus. They agreed on viewpoints that included ending the occupation and forming an Iraqi government in a way that both satisfied the Iraqi people's aspirations and maintained Iraqi unity. He has close ties to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Awards
He was awarded the Royal Order of the Drum by Kigeli V, the former King of Rwanda, for his goal of establishing a way out of Iraq's political crisis and of ending the tragic ordeal of a people who lived under terror and tyranny.
Quotes
"It would have been the perfect transition from dictatorship to democracy," he said. "It would have been a way to unite the country around a figure whose history transcended sect and ethnicity." In 2003, Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein said, he pressed American officials to bring him in as soon as Saddam Hussein fell.
"I don't believe there is a military solution right now in Iraq for either side, for the Americans or the insurgents," he said. "We must start with negotiations."
"There is no risk of a breakup of Iraq. There is no risk of a civil war."
