The National Socialist Party (, Al-Hizb Al-Watani Al-Ishtiraki) was a left-wing socialist political party established in Jordan in 1954. The party contested the 1956 election on 21 October, becoming the largest party in the 40-member House of Representatives after they won 12 seats. Consequently, King Hussein asked Suleiman Nabulsi, the leader of the party, to form a government. Nabulsi's cabinet included independent ministers and Communists, lasting for less than a couple of months after its policies frequently clashed with that of the Palace. Three days after royalist officials forced Nabulsi's resignation on 10 April 1957, there was an alleged coup attempt by Ali Abu Nuwar (then Army Chief of Staff), said to have sympathized with Nabulsi and the Arab nationalist movement. The Party led the only democratically elected government in Jordan's history. As a response to the coup attempt, Hussein declared martial law and banned political parties until 1989. Background Suleiman Nabulsi (born 1908) was a Jordanian political activist. He was appointed as Jordan's ambassador to Britain in 1953. His experience in Britain turned him into a staunch Arab nationalist and anti-Zionist, and he resigned 5 months later from the post. Returning to Jordan in 1954, his nationalism alienated him from King Hussein who had him exiled from the capital Amman to a provincial town. At this time, his supporters established the National Socialist Party (NSP) and Nabulsi was elected its leader. The Party aimed at reducing the grip of the Palace on politics, and establishing greater relations with anti-imperialist Arab states at the expense of Britain. The 1950s witnessed the rise of Nasserism, a socialist Arab nationalist political ideology based on the thinking of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Jordan captured the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and it annexed the territory in 1950. Jordan's population now was two-thirds Palestinian who outnumbered Transjordanians, the Palestinians had identified with Nasser more than Hussein. Nasser's Egyptian–Czechoslovak arms deal in September 1955 and the July 1956 nationalization of the Suez Canal had greatly added to his popularity across the Arab World. History The 40-member lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives, was divided equally between the two banks (20 seats each). However, the West Bank had 175,000 eligible voters, and the East Bank (Transjordan) 129,000. Winning 12 out of 40 seats in the 1956 elections, King Hussein asked Nabulsi, the leader of the largest party in parliament, to form