Queen Rania of Jordan

Rania Al-Abdullah

Rania at Washington, D.C. in 2009
Queen consort of Jordan
Tenure 7 February 1999–present
Proclamation 22 March 1999
Born (1970-08-31) 31 August 1970
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Spouse Abdullah II of Jordan
Issue Crown Prince Hussein
Princess Iman
Princess Salma
Prince Hashem
Full name
Rania al-Abdullah
Father Faisal Sedki Al-Yassin
Mother Ilham Yassin
Religion Islam

Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan (Arabic: رانيا العبد الله‎ Rāniyā al-ʻAbd Allāh; born Rania Al-Yassin on 31 August 1970) is the Queen consort of Jordan. Since marrying the now King of Jordan, Abdullah bin al-Hussein, she has become known for her advocacy work related to education, health, community empowerment, youth, cross-cultural dialogue, and micro-finance. She is also an avid user of social media and she maintains pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. She has two daughters and two sons and has been given various decorations by governments.

Personal life

Jordanian Royal Family

HM The King
HM The Queen

HM Queen Noor

Extended royal family

Rania Al-Yassin was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents Faisal Sedki al-Yassin and Ilham Yassin from Tulkarm. She attended the New English School in Jabriya, Kuwait, then received a degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. Upon her graduation from the American University, she worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple Inc. in Amman.[1]

In a September 2008 CNN televised interview with Fareed Zakaria, Queen Rania stated that she is not opposed to women choosing to wear the Islamic veil hijab of their own volition as long as it is not compulsory. She further noted that modern Islamic women must be entitled to wear any veil of their own individual choice and not be "pressured" by a traditionalist interpretation of Islamic law in society. Rania herself has been seen wearing a veil or a styled hat only on televised royal weddings and during private Papal audiences with the Pope in Rome.

She was ranked as the most beautiful consort (or first lady) in the world by Harpers and Queen magazine in 2011.[2]

Areas of work

Since her marriage, Queen Rania has used her position to advocate for various sectors of society in Jordan and beyond.

Domestic agenda

Education

Over the past few years, Queen Rania has launched, championed, and given patronage to several initiatives in education and learning.

In July 2005, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the King and Queen launched an annual teachers’ award, the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education.[3][4]

Queen Rania - World Economic Forum on the Middle East held at the Dead Sea, Jordan, in 2007

The Queen is Chairperson of Jordan's first interactive children's museum. Opened in May 2007, it aims to encourage and nurture lifelong learning for children and their families.[5][6] In April 2008, the Queen launched “Madrasati” (“My School”), a public-private initiative aimed at refurbishing 500 of Jordan’s public schools over a five-year period.[7] In higher education, the Queen Rania Scholarship Program[8] partners with several universities from around the world. Queen Rania is also Chairperson[9] of the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS).[10]

Community empowerment

Queen Rania's first venture was the establishment of the Jordan River Foundation (JRF) in 1995.

The Jordan River Children Program (JRCP) was developed by Queen Rania to place children’s welfare above political agendas and cultural taboos.[11] This led to the launch, in 1998, of JRF’s Child Safety Program, which addresses the immediate needs of children at risk from abuse and initiated a long-term campaign to increase public awareness about violence against children. The deaths of two children in Amman as a result of child abuse in early 2009 led Queen Rania to call for an emergency meeting of government and non-government (including JRF) stakeholders to discuss where the system was failing.[12]

In 2009, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her husband's accession to the throne, Queen Rania launched a community champion award (Ahel Al Himmeh) in March to highlight the accomplishments of groups and individuals who have helped their local communities.[13]

Youth

Queen Rania has stated that an essential aspect of education is to equip young people with the necessary skills to perform well in the workplace.[14]

She initiated the Al-Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans in 2003,[15] and has partnered with international universities providing scholarships for Jordanian students abroad.[8] She supports INJAZ Al-Arab, which was established by Save the Children in 1999, and later on with Junior Achievement and launched as a Jordanian non-profit organization by the Queen in 2001.[16] In her capacity as Regional Ambassador of INJAZ Al-Arab, she has taught classes, and engaged in dialogue with young people in other countries; she also launched INJAZ Al-Arab's presence elsewhere in the Arab world.[17] She also chaired a discussion with entrepreneurs in celebration of INJAZ Al-Arab's 10th anniversary, showcasing alumni's success stories [18] At the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, she launched the "Empowering One Million Arab Youth by 2018" campaign, which was conceived by INJAZ Arabia.[19]

Global agenda

Global education

Michelle Obama hosts Queen Rania in the Yellow Oval Room

In November 2000, in recognition of her commitment to the cause of children and youth, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) invited Queen Rania to join its Global Leadership Initiative.[20] The Queen worked alongside other world leaders, including former South African President Nelson Mandela, in a global movement seeking to improve the welfare of children.[21] In January 2007, Queen Rania was named UNICEF's first Eminent Advocate for Children.[22] In August 2009, Queen Rania became Honorary Global Chair of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI).[23]

As a longtime supporter of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE),[24] Queen Rania met with children and inspirational women in South Africa, both in the cities of Johannesburg and Soweto, in March 2009.[25] Queen Rania and the women took turns reading a short story out of The Big Read to the children, in an effort to encourage literacy. One of the stories in the book, “Maha of the Mountains”, was contributed by Queen Rania.[26] In Soweto, she was the first to write her name in the back of the Big Read, before passing it on to everyone else to write their name.[27][28]

Queen Rania at the 2003 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

During her April 2009 US trip, Queen Rania joined leading education advocates Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Counsellor to the Secretary of the Treasury Gene Sperling to launch "The Big Read" as part of Global Campaign for Education's global action week calling for quality basic education for all children.[29] She was also hosted by first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, during that same trip.[30]

On 20 August 2009, Queen Rania co-founded and led the launch of the "1GOAL: Education for All" campaign alongside Gary Lineker, and with the help of top international footballers at Wembley Stadium, London.[31] Queen Rania is co-founder and global co-chair of the 1GOAL campaign to rally World Cup 2010 fans together during the world’s biggest single sporting event and call on world leaders to give 75 million children out of school an education.[32] On 6 October 2009, Queen Rania was joined by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK, the President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, and other heads of state, for the Global Launch of 1GOAL, which took place across six locations worldwide.[33] Queen Rania spoke of the need to turn this “tragedy into triumph” and called on political leaders to stand by their aid commitments.[33]

In 2008, Queen Rania participated in YouTube's In My Name[34] campaign. She appeared alongside The Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am in the video, "End Poverty – Be the Generation,"[35] which urged world leaders to keep the promises they made in 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit.[36]

Cross-cultural dialogue

Queen Rania has also been particularly vocal about the importance of cross cultural and interfaith dialogue to foster greater understanding, tolerance and acceptance across the world.[37] She has used her status to correct what she sees as misconceptions in the West about the Arab world. Forbes magazine ranked her as one of the world's 100 most powerful women in 2011.[38]

Queen Rania has played a significant role in reaching out to the global community to foster values of tolerance and acceptance, and increase cross-cultural dialogue. For example, regionally and internationally, Queen Rania has campaigned for a greater understanding between cultures in such high profile forums as the Jeddah Economic Forum,[39] the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University,[40] and the Skoll Foundation[41] in the UK.

Queen Rania has also used YouTube as a way to promote intercultural dialogue by calling on young people around the world to engage in a global dialogue to dismantle stereotypes of Muslims and the Arab world.[42] She has also made public appearances, including a half-hour television interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 17 May 2006, where she spoke about misconceptions about Islam and especialy women in Islam.[43][44][45] For her work in reaching out across cultures she received the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe in March 2009[46] and the first ever YouTube Visionary Award in November 2008.[47] For her work in cross-cultural peace dialogue Queen Rania accepted the PeaceMaker Award.[48] from the Non-Profit Seeds of Peace.

In May 2009, Queen Rania attended the fifth Young Global Leaders Summit at the Dead Sea, Jordan, to address socio-economic challenges facing the region and had trips organized for the Young Global Leaders in which they visited local Madrasati schools, the Jordan River Foundation, and other affiliated organizations.[49]

When it comes to youth, in early 2002 Queen Rania joined the Board of Directors of the International Youth Foundation, based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States.[50] In September 2006, Queen Rania also joined the United Nations Foundation Board of Directors.[51] The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach.[52]

Microfinance

In September 2003, Queen Rania accepted an invitation to join the Board of Directors of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), thus formalizing a relationship of support and advocacy which began in 2000.[53]

An emissary for the United Nations’ International Year of Microcredit in 2005, Queen Rania’s belief in microfinance and her partnership with FINCA[53] has generated more Jordanian micro-businesses, with the official opening of FINCA Jordan in February 2008.[54]

Online

Queen Rania uses online social-networking tools such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

YouTube

On 30 March 2008, Queen Rania launched her own YouTube channel, initially to invite viewers to give their opinions of the Middle East and talk about stereotypes they may have of Arabs and Muslims.[55] Between 30 March and 12 August (International Youth Day), Queen Rania posted videos on YouTube in which she asked people to send her their questions about Islam and the Arab world.[56] She provided responses to those questions and explained her view of the truth about various Arab and Muslim stereotypes. Over five months she posted videos on subjects that included honour killings, terrorism and the rights of Arab women.[57] International personalities such as Dean Obeidallah,[58] Maz Jobrani,[59] and YouTube star Mia Rose[60] also contributed videos to the campaign.

Queen Rania also links some of her recent interviews to her YouTube channel, such as her interview with Wolf Blitzer in CNN’s “Situation Room”, in April 2009. During this two part interview, Queen Rania discussed the importance of education.[61] Queen Rania also uploads other videos on topics close to her heart, such as her appeal to support UNRWA’s work in Gaza following the Israeli assault in late December 2008/early January 2009.[62]

Facebook

Queen Rania is followed by about 4,330,000 people on Twitter.[63]

Queen Rania is also a member of Facebook, with her own fan page aimed at engaging people to discuss cross-cultural dialogue, education, and more recently, the use of social media to create social change. Along with her YouTube videos that have been uploaded, photos of her personal and public life can be found. As of 11 December 2015, 5,511,671 people have "Liked" her page.[64]

Twitter

To coincide with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Jordan on Friday, 8 May 2009, Queen Rania started using the micro-blogging website Twitter with the username @QueenRania.[65] On the occasion of the World Economic Forum held at the Dead Sea in Jordan, June 2009, Queen Rania conducted her first Twitter interview, answering five questions from the general public via her Twitter account.[66]

When she joined Twitter, she also gave an interview with TechCrunch on “how Twitter can help change the world”, where she said It’s about using social media for social change: creating a community of advocates who can use their voices on behalf of the voiceless, or leverage their talents, skills, knowledge, and resources to put more children into classrooms, or pressure their elected representatives to get global education top of the agenda.[67]

Her tweets have ranged from the personal, including photos of herself and her family, to more serious topics like the typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines, the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, peace in the Middle East, and promoting Jordan, global education, and initiatives like 1GOAL.[68] She has been taunted on Twitter for some of her tweets, such as those involving the 2010–2011 Tunisian protests.[69] As of 28 May 2015, Queen Rania has over 3,798,362 followers.[70]

Publications

Gifts to the Queen's family

The leaders of 36 tribes issued a statement calling on the king "to return to the treasury land and farms given to the Yassin family."[76][77][78] The royal court rebutted the claims, stating that the signers of the document "are not leaders of the tribes to which they belong." It also dismissed the claims about the land gifts, stating that a check of the land registry would contradict the claims.[79]

Marriage and family

She met Jordanian Abdullah bin Al-Hussein, who was a prince at that time, at a dinner party in August 1992. Six months later, they announced their engagement. On 10 June 1993, they were married. The couple has four children:

Her husband ascended on 7 February 1999, and proclaimed her queen on 22 March 1999.[80] Without the proclamation she would have been a princess consort, like her mother-in-law, Princess Muna al-Hussein.

International roles and positions

Titles, honours and awards

Titles

Rania is styled as "Her Majesty The Queen of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan". From her marriage on 10 June 1993 until her husband's ascension on 22 March 1999 she was styled as "Her Royal Highness Princess Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan".

National decorations

Foreign decorations

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Profile: Jordan's Queen Rania", BBC 7 November 2001.
  2. ↑ "World most beautiful first ladies". therichest.org. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education.
  4. ↑ Queen launches award to honor school principals, 15 April 2009.
  5. ↑ King, Queen join Jordanian children at opening of children's museum, Jordan Times, 23 May 2007.
  6. ↑ "Childrens' Museum of Jordan". Cmj. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  7. ↑ "Madrasati.jo". Madrasati. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  8. 1 2 Craig Mead (27 May 2010). "Queen Rania Scholarship Program". Queen Rania. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  9. ↑ Queen Rania chairs first meeting of Royal Health Awareness Society, 7 September 2005.
  10. ↑ "Royal Health Awareness Society". RHAS. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  11. ↑ Interview with Il Messaggero, 13 May 2008.
  12. ↑ Queen calls emergency meeting to discuss child abuse cases, Jordan Times, 24 July 2009
  13. ↑ "Ahel Al Himmeh". Himmeh.jo. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  14. ↑ Interview: Gateway to the Middle East, 2009.
  15. ↑ Orphans' future security depends on society's commitment, contributions, Jordan Times, 22 January 2004.
  16. ↑ INJAZ Al-Arab for the creation of economic opportunity for Jordanian youth.
  17. ↑ INJAZ Kuwait Launch, 24 November 2006.
  18. ↑ "Queen Rania chairs a discussion with entrepreneurs from INJAZ Al-Arab celebrating its 10th anniversary". Queen rania Al Abdullah. January 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  19. ↑ Queen Rania launches campaign to prepare 1 million Arab youth for workforce, 24 January 2008.
  20. 1 2 Queen Rania Joins UNICEF Leadership Initiative, U.N. Wire, 15 November 2000.
  21. ↑ Jordan's Queen Rania shares school bench in Soweto township, Monsters and Critics, 27 March 2009.
  22. 1 2 Queen Rania becomes UNICEF’s first Eminent Advocate for Children at the World Economic Forum, UNICEF, Press Centre, 26 January 2007.
  23. 1 2 Queen Rania designated as Honorary Global Chair of the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), UNGEI, 15 July 2009.
  24. ↑ "Global Campaign for Education". Campaignforeducation.org. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  25. ↑ A Promising Glimpse of Africa's Future Can Be Found in Its Children, Huffington Post, 27 March 2009.
  26. 1 2 Maha of the Mountains, The Big Read, The Global Campaign for Education, 2009.
  27. ↑ Youth leaders in Soweto greet Queen Rania of Jordan, UNICEF, 30 March 2009.
  28. ↑ Queen Rania of Jordan, reads her story to children and announces her role as Honorary Chair of Action Week, Global Campaign for Education, 27 March 2009.
  29. ↑ Jordan's Queen Rania, Congresswoman Nita Lowey Launch 'The Big Read' Global Education Campaign, Huffington Post, 21 April 2009.
  30. ↑ The First Lady and Queen Rania, White House Blog, 23 April 2009.
  31. 1 2 Queen lends support to 1GOAL initiative, Jordan Times, 21 August 2009.
  32. ↑ "1GOAL: Education for All". Join1goal.org. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  33. 1 2 Queen joins world leaders in launching 1GOAL campaign, Jordan Times, 7 October 2009.
  34. ↑ In My Name, YouTube Channel.
  35. ↑ “” (22 September 2008). "End Poverty – Be the Generation". Youtube.com. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  36. ↑ "Celebrities Join YouTube at UN to Launch Poverty Campaign", Huffington Post, 26 September 2008.
  37. ↑ Queen underscores need to promote cross-cultural dialogue, Jordan Times, 19 September 2005.
  38. ↑ The 100 Most Powerful Women, Forbes Magazine, 2011.
  39. ↑ Queen Rania addresses Jeddah Economic Forum, urges global community to plant seeds of acceptance, dialogue, peace, 25 February 2007.
  40. ↑ Keynote Address, Harvard University, 3 May 2007.
  41. ↑ Queen Rania Al Abdullah Remarks at Skoll World Forum, 27 March 2007.
  42. ↑ YOUTUBE EXCLUSIVE: Send me your stereotypes, Queen Rania Channel, YouTube, 30 March 2008.
  43. ↑ Meet the World's Youngest Queen, Oprah.com, 17 May 2006.
  44. ↑ Queen Rania on Oprah Winfrey, Part 1, 17 May 2006.
  45. ↑ Queen Rania on Oprah Winfrey, Part 2, 17 May 2006.
  46. ↑ North South Prize Acceptance Speech, 16 March 2009.
  47. ↑ Queen Rania Accepts YouTube Visionary Award, 22 November 2008.
  48. ↑ "Seeds of Peace, to Present Peacemaker Award to Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan. – Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  49. ↑ Focus on leadership as Queen Rania opens YGL Dead Sea Summit, 13 May 2009.
  50. 1 2 HM Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan Joins International Youth Foundation's Board, 22 March 2002.
  51. 1 2 HER MAJESTY QUEEN RANIA JOINS BOARD OF UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION, 13 September 2006.
  52. ↑ "United Nations Foundation". Unfoundation.org. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  53. 1 2 FINCA’S FINCA International Welcomes Queen Rania Al Abdullah, First Lady of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to Its Board of Directors, 15 September 2003.
  54. ↑ Queen highlights power of microfinance, tours FINCA Jordan microbusinesses, 26 February 2008.
  55. ↑ Queen Rania Launched YouTube Channel, USA Today, 31 March 2008.
  56. ↑ "Queen Rania takes on stereotypes", BBC, 25 July 2008.
  57. ↑ "Jordan queen wraps up YouTube plan on stereotypes", The Guardian, 11 August 2008.
  58. ↑ "Queen, Comedians Use YouTube To Fight Stereotypes", The Washington Post, 31 July 2008.
  59. ↑ "Blowing up: Maz Jobrani pokes dangerous fun at Middle Eastern stereotypes", Time Out, Chicago, 2008.
  60. ↑ Mia Rose and Hanna Gargour sing "Waiting on the World to Change", YouTube, 30 June 2008.
  61. ↑ Queen: Education a top priority, YouTube, 25 April 2009.
  62. ↑ Hell on Earth, YouTube, 16 January 2009.
  63. ↑ "Followers of Queen Rania". Twitter. 01-08-2013. Retrieved 2013-08-01. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  64. ↑ Queen Rania's Facebook page. Facebook.com. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  65. ↑ Queen of tweets: Jordan's Rania announces Pope's arrival on Twitter, 8 May 2009.
  66. ↑ Twitter interview with Queen Rania, World Economic Forum, 12 May 2009.
  67. ↑ An Interview with Queen Rania of Jordan on how Twitter can help change the world, TechCrunch, 19 May 2009.
  68. ↑ QueenRania. "Queen Rania's Twitter Page". Twitter.com. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  69. ↑ Meris Lutz (16 January 2011). "MIDDLE EAST: Activists, Arab leaders on edge as Tunisia hangs in the balance". LATimes.com. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  70. ↑ https://twitter.com/QueenRania
  71. ↑ The King's Gift, Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Amazon.com, 2000
  72. ↑ Ahead of Mother’s Day, Queen Rania announces winners of “Mama’s Story” competition highlighting importance of reading, Jordan Times, 20 March 2009
  73. ↑ The Sandwich Swap, Amazon.com, 2010
  74. ↑ "The Sandwich Swap". CSMonitor.com. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  75. ↑ Schuessler, Jennifer. "Books – Best-Seller Lists – The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  76. ↑ Sandels, Alexandra (7 February 2011). "JORDAN: Tribesmen slam Queen Rania, warn of revolt". Los Angeles Time. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  77. ↑ Habib, Randa (10 February 2011). "Jordan tribes break taboo by targeting queen". AFP. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  78. ↑ Al Qassemi, Sultan (1 February 2012). "Tribalism in the Arabian Peninsula: It Is a Family Affair". Jadaliyya. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  79. ↑ "Royal court denies Jordan tribes targeting queen". AFP. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  80. ↑ "King proclaims Rania Queen". Jordanembassyus.org. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  81. ↑ Queen Rania announced as Honorary Chair of Global Action Week, Global Campaign for Education, April 2009.
  82. ↑ Queen Rania, Member of the World Economic Forum Foundation Board, World Economic Forum.
  83. ↑ Foundation Board for Young Global Leaders, World Economic Forum.
  84. ↑ Every Child Council, GAVI.
  85. ↑ ICRW Leadership Council Archived 16 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  86. ↑ Arab Open University, Board of Trustees.
  87. ↑ Zaharicom WebDesign. "Operation Smile". Operationsmile.jo. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  88. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Royal Ark, Jordanian genealogy details
  89. ↑ http://www.thailanguagehut.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/my-king.jpg
  90. ↑ Italian Presidency Website, S.M. la Regina Rania Al Abdullah
  91. ↑ PPE Agency, State visit of Jordan in Netherlands 2006, Photo
  92. 1 2 "Cidadãos Estrangeiros Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas (search form)" (in Portuguese). Portuguese Presidency (presidencia.pt). Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  93. ↑ Royal Decree 502/2006. Boletin Oficial del Estado (BOE). Reference: BOE-A-2006-7242.
  94. ↑ Royal Decree 1605/1999. Boletin Oficial del Estado (BOE). Reference: BOE-A-1999-20603
  95. ↑ Foro Dinastías, State visit of Jordan in Spain, Sofia & Rania
  96. ↑ State visit of Jordan in Sweden (2003), Group photo of Swedish & Jordanian sovereigns wearing reciprocal orders
  97. ↑ in Italian

External links

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Royal titles
Preceded by
Noor Al-Hussein		 Queen consort of Jordan
1999–present 		Incumbent
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