(1962- )
Just before King Hussein of Jordan died in 1999, he named as his successor his eldest son, Abdullah. It was a decision which surprised the Jordanians, who were expecting Queen Noor's eldest son Hamzah to step into his father's shoes. Abdullah himself had planned to follow a career "behind the scenes," as he put it, in the military.
Born in Amman on January 30, 1962, to King Hussein and his second wife,
English-born Princess Muna Al Hussein, Prince Abdullah began his education
in the Jordanian capital before heading to England and, later, the United
States. After completing his military education at the prestigious
Sandhurst Academy, he spent a year at Oxford studying Middle Eastern
Affairs and attended the School Of Foreign Service at Georgetown
University in the States.
After Sandhurst, he served with the British Army before returning to his
homeland to take up a post in the Jordanian Armed Forces. Although
Hussein's eldest son represented his father in a diplomatic capacity while
pursuing his military career, it was thought Abdullah would not succeed,
especially as the king had named his own younger brother Hassan as heir.
A man of action, Abdullah is a scuba diving and automobile racing fan –
he's a former Jordanian National Rally Racing Champion – plus a qualified
frogman, pilot and freefall parachutist. He's also a keen collector of
ancient weapons and armaments.
Disguised in a curly wig and jeans he has a reputation for mingling
anonymously with his subjects in order to gauge public opinion about his
rule. His biggest challenge as king will be to bring democracy to Jordan,
a task for which he admits he doesn't "have a blueprint". His stance as a
truly modern monarch is underlined by the vision he has posted on his
website of "a Jordan with equal opportunities for all and with special
privileges for none".
The young Army officer met his wife, Kuwait-born Palestinian
Rania, at
a dinner party given by one of his sisters in 1993 and, by all accounts,
it was love at first sight. The two were married in June of that year and
have four children: Prince Hussein, born in 1994; Princess Iman, born in
1996; Princess Salma, born in 2000 and Prince Hashem, born in 2005. When
Abdullah took the throne, Rania was, at 28, the youngest (and some said,
most beautiful) queen in the world.
The two live in an apartment in the suburbs of Amman, a wedding present
from the late king which they prefer to any of the eight royal palaces
scattered around the city, and are the epitome of normality – or as normal
as you can be when you are royalty. Rania still puts their children to bed
herself, and her husband is not above whipping up the occasional evening
meal.
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Added: May 2006