Abdullah II of Jordan

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His Majesty King Abdullah II
King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Image:Abdullah II Cropped.jpg
Reign	February 7, 1999 - present
Born	January 30, 1962
	Amman, Jordan
Predecessor	Hussein bin Talal
Heir-Apparent	Prince Hussein
Consort	Rania Al-Yasin
Issue	Prince Hussein Princess Iman Princess Salma Prince Hashem
Royal House	Hashemite
Father	Hussein bin Talal
Mother	Muna al-Hussein

Abdullah II bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan (Arabic: عبد الله الثاني بن الحسين‎) (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. He is also claimed to be a 43rd-generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

1 Birth and education
- 1.1 Education
2 Military career
3 Marriage and children
4 King of Jordan
5 Politics as King
6 Human Rights Violations
7 Future as King
8 Successor
9 Trivia
10 See also
11 External links

[edit] Birth and education

Abdullah was born in Amman to King Hussein and Princess Muna al-Hussein. Mathematically, his mother's pregnancy was considerably less than nine months, which might confirm the claim that he is an illegitimate son to King Hussein.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Education

As a young man, the king 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, to which he is reported to have donated a sum of money.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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. They have four children:

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

[edit] King of Jordan

Image:Kingabdulla worldeconomicforum.jpg

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 because Abdullah's mother, Antoinette Avril Gardiner (commonly referred to as Toni Avril Gardiner), was British by birth. Controversially, he is the only Jordanian monarch of mixed Arab/British ancestry.

[edit] Politics as King

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.

Nevertheless, Abdullah is often criticized for ruling with an autocratic style, imposing limitations on basic freedoms of speech, press, and the right to protest. ^{[citation needed]}Therefore, criticism of King Abdullah, the Hashemite family, the government, or Islam is severely punishable.

[edit] Human Rights Violations

Human Rights Watch has issued many publications that denounce King Abdullah’s interior policies, particularly his views on human torture and abuse which only blemished his name in front of many international communities and organizations.

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[edit] Future as King

On march, 2005; Fox news published an article that states that King Abdullah's wife, Queen Rania, ranks among the world's most expensive women in terms of her living habits[1].It is also said that she has thousands of very expensive shoes and dresses in her royal palace^{[citation needed]}. Such news greatly infuriated many Jordanians and Arabs since Jordan has one of the highest unemployment rates worldwide.
The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, said that Israel's GOC Central Command leader of the Israeli army, Yair Naveh, predicted that King Abdullah will fall and that he will be Jordan's last king. It does not, however, provide the source of Naveh's information[2].
In addition, the Los Angeles Times also expects the same consequence as a result of his corrupt internal policies and abuses[3]

[edit] 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 [4].

[edit] Trivia

Image:King Abdullah on Star Trek.jpg

King Abdullah is an acknowledged fan of Star Trek. In 1995, while he was still Prince, he appeared as an extra in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Investigations" [5]. 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 at the time 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 plans to open a private boarding school in Jordan called King's Academy in 2007, modeled upon Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, USA.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Abdullah II

Preceded by: Hussein	Hashemite King of Jordan February 7, 1999 – present	Incumbent

ar:عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين

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