Abdullah II of Jordan

King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein () (born January 30, 1962), is the current King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He has reigned since the death of his father, King Hussein bin Talal, on February 7, 1999.

Birth and education

Born in Amman to King Hussein and Princess Muna al-Hussein and claimed to be the 43rd direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the king as a young man attended the Islamic Educational College in the Jordanian capital for his primary education, later attending St. Edmund's School (Hindhead) in Surrey, England. Abdullah subsequently attended Eaglebrook School and Deerfield Academy in the United States for his secondary education. After leaving Deerfield he attended Pembroke College, Oxford.

Military career

In 1980, he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK as a cadet. He joined the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) upon commission as a Second Lieutenant the following year. King Abdullah retains close links with the British Army and is the Colonel-in-Chief of The Light Dragoons, a tank regiment and the successor to the 13th/18th Royal Hussars.

He attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, where he completed an advanced studies and research program as a mid-career fellow in the Master of Science in Foreign Service program in 1987. He graduated from the Georgetown Leadership Seminar in that same year. His course work was quite similar to that of the formal MSFS degree, although he does not hold one neither does he hold any sort of graduate degrees to his name.

Marriage and children

Abdullah is married to a Kuwait-born, Jordan-bred Palestinian, Rania Al-Yassin (now Queen Rania al-Abdullah), who is renowned for her philanthropic work but is still frowned upon by large sections of the population for the rumours of cronyism, favouritism and excessive spending on shopping sprees that surround her. They have four children:

Hussein (born June 28, 1994)
Iman (born September 27, 1996)
Salma (born September 26, 2000)
Hashem (born January 30, 2005)

King of Jordan

Abdullah became king on February 7, 1999, upon the death of his father King Hussein. Hussein had recently named him Crown Prince on January 24, replacing Hussein's brother Hassan who had served many years in the position. The decision was not universally popular. Abdullah's mother, Antoinette Avril Gardiner (commonly referred to as Toni Avril Gardiner), was British by birth, whereas the Jordanian Constitution stipulated that the King should be of an Arab mother and father — hence Abdullah was technically disqualified by the Constitution from taking the throne.

Politics as King

Current Jordanian law largely bans public criticism of the king and his policies and provides for imprisonment for between one to three years and fines of up to 5,000 dinars (about US $7,000) for infractions. A number of editors, journalists, and union workers who have criticized King Abdullah have been jailed and detained for extended periods. Human rights organizations have also criticized Abdullah and his regime for several human rights violations and acts of torture committed against Islamic radicals and those who express dissent and criticism of his policies ^*.

Jordan's economy has improved under King Abdullah II, and he has been credited with increasing foreign investment, attending meetings between public and private sectors, and providing the foundation for Aqaba's free trade zone.

His speech at The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law in September 2005 was entitled "Traditional Islam: The Path to Peace." While en route to the United States, King Abdullah met with Pope Benedict XVI to build on the relations that Jordan had established with Pope John Paul II, and to discuss ways in which Muslims and Christians can continue to work together for peace, tolerance, and coexistence.

Successor

On November 28, 2004, Abdullah removed the title of Crown Prince from his half-brother, Hamzah, (whom he had appointed on February 7, 1999, in accordance with their late father's wishes). In a letter from Abdullah to Hamzah, read on Jordanian state television, he said, "Your holding this symbolic position has restrained your freedom and hindered our entrusting you with certain responsibilities that you are fully qualified to undertake." No successor to the title was named, but some analysts believe it probable that Abdullah intends to name his own son, Prince Hussein, to succeed him at some point in the future ^*.

Trivia

King Abdullah is an acknowledged fan of Star Trek. In 1995, while he was still Prince, he appeared as an extra in the Voyager episode "Investigations." Abdullah's role was not given any speaking lines because he was not a member of the Screen Actors Guild.
After assuming the throne, the politically inexperienced king nearly caused a regional crisis by labeling Iran as the sole cause of instability in the region, to which Iran replied that the "Shah and his cronies are back into politics" (in reference to the courting by his father King Hussein of the Shah).
King Abdullah's ancestor, Faisal I of Iraq, a member of the Hashemite dynasty, was portrayed by Alec Guinness in the 1962 motion picture Lawrence of Arabia.
King Abdullah plans to open a private boarding school called Kings Academy in Jordan in 2007, modeled upon New England preparatory schools including his alma mater Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, MA, USA. King Abdullah is currently hosting a consulting contingency from Eaglebrook, including Andrew Chase and longtime faculty.

External links

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