Abdullah II bin al-Hussein

The forty-first-generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon Him), His Majesty King Abdullah II, assumed his constitutional powers on February 7, 1999.

Following the legacy of his father, the late King Hussein, King Abdullah has made the welfare of Jordan’s people the cornerstone of his policies for national development, regional peace, and global coexistence. The king’s special concern for the future of Jordan’s young people has put youth engagement, education, and opportunity at the top of his agenda. At home, he has paired economic reforms with political liberalization and an innovative national development program, hinging on educational reforms.

To provide real solutions to Jordan’s pressing economic needs, King Abdullah ushered in a new era of structural reform and modernization, integration with the world economy, and globalization. The king has worked to bring together the public and private sectors—both domestic and global—through large-scale initiatives for job creation and poverty alleviation.

King Abdullah has been the voice of Jordan’s progressive policies to expand global justice and cooperation. Taking up the historical role of the Hashemite family, he has championed the rights, achievements, and values of Muslims worldwide. In 2004, he worked with leading Islamic scholars to release the Amman Message, reaching a global audience with Islam’s guiding principles of peace, tolerance, and dialogue among faiths. In the footsteps of the late King Hussein, King Abdullah renewed a firm commitment to peace in the region on the basis of the two-state solution and the establishment of a viable, independent, and geographically contiguous Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace alongside Israel, in accordance with UN resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

Born in Amman on January 30, 1962, King Abdullah is the eldest son of His Majesty King Hussein Bin Talal and Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al Hussein. King Abdullah began his education at the Islamic Educational College in Amman. He later attended St. Edmund’s School in Surrey, England, and concluded his high school education at Deerfield Academy in the United States. Later, he pursued advanced studies at Pembroke College, Oxford, and Georgetown University.

In 1993, then-Prince Abdullah met Rania Al-Yassin. Six months later, the couple were engaged, and they married on June 10, 1993. They have four children: Prince Hussein, the crown prince; Princess Iman; Princess Salma; and Prince Hashem.

Source: University Programs and Events Planning Resources, September 2011