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MaximsNews
Contributor
His
Majesty King
Abdullah II of
Jordan
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JORDAN'S
KING ABDULLAH II:
BIO (MaximsNews.com,
UN) |
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com,
UN/ -
July 2006- His
Majesty King Abdullah II
bin Al Hussein is the
43rd generation direct
descendant of the
Prophet Muhammad (Peace
Be Upon Him). He assumed
his constitutional
powers as Monarch of the
Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan on February 7th,
1999, the day his
father, the late King
Hussein, passed away.
Born
in Amman on January
30th, 1962, King
Abdullah II is the
eldest son of His
Majesty the late King
Hussein and Her Royal
Highness Princess Muna
Al Hussein. He began his
primary education at the
Islamic Educational
College in Amman, and
later attended St.
Edmund's School in
Surrey, England. For his
secondary education, he
attended Eaglebrook
School and Deerfield
Academy in the United
States of America.
King
Abdullah II joined the
Royal Military Academy
Sandhurst in the United
Kingdom in 1980, and was
commissioned as Second
Lieutenant in 1981. He
was later appointed
Reconnaissance Troop
Leader in the 13th/18th
Battalion of the Royal
Hussars (British Army)
in (West) Germany and
England.
In
1982, King Abdullah II
attended Oxford
University where he
completed a one-year
Special Studies course
in Middle Eastern
Affairs. Upon returning
home, King Abdullah II
joined the Jordanian
Armed Forces and served
as Platoon Commander and
Company
Second-in-Command in the
40th Armored Brigade.
In
1985, he attended the
Armored Officers
Advanced Course at Fort
Knox, Kentucky, USA. A
year later, he became
Commander of a Tank
Company in the 91st
Armored Brigade of the
Jordanian Armed Forces
holding the rank of
Captain. He also served
with the Royal Jordanian
Airforce Anti-Tank Wing
where he received his
wings as well as his
qualifications as a
Cobra Attack Pilot.
In
1987, King Abdullah II
attended the School of
Foreign Service at
Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C. as a
Mid-Career Fellow. He
completed an Advanced
Study and Research
program in International
Affairs, part of the
‘Master of Science in
Foreign Service'
program.
King
Abdullah II, thereafter,
resumed his military
career where he held
various positions, among
them Commander of the
Royal Jordanian Special
Forces and Special
Operations Commander.
From January 1989 until
October 1989 King
Abdullah II was the 2nd
Company Commander in the
17th Tank Battalion, and
from October 1989 until
January 1991 he was 2nd
in Command of the 17th
Tank Battalion, during
which time, in 1990, he
attended the Royal Staff
College in Camberley in
the United Kingdom.
He
was then promoted to the
rank of Major. From
January 1991 until
January 1992 he was
Armored Corps
Representative in the
Office of the Inspector
General of the Jordanian
Armed Forces.
King
Abdullah became
Battalion Commander of
the Second Armored
Cavalry Regiment in
January 1992. In 1993,
he was in the 40th
Brigade with the rank of
Colonel, and was made
Deputy Commander of the
Jordanian Special
Forces.
In
1994, he was made
Commander of Special
Forces with the rank of
Brigadier and in 1996 he
reorganized the Special
Forces and other Elite
Units into the Special
Operations Command. King
Abdullah was promoted to
Major-General in 1998,
and in June / July of
the same year attended a
defense resources
management course in
Monterrey Naval Post
Graduate School.
In
addition to his career
as an army officer, King
Abdullah II served
Jordan many times in the
official capacity of
Regent in the absence of
the late King Hussein,
and regularly traveled
on official missions.
He
was proclaimed Crown
Prince on the 24th of
January 1999 by a Royal
Decree. He had also
assumed the position of
Crown Prince at birth by
a Royal Decree until
April 1st, 1965.
Since
his ascension to the
throne, King Abdullah II
has continued his late
father's commitment to
creating a strong and
positive moderating role
for Jordan within the
Arab region and the
world, and has worked
towards the
establishment of a just
and lasting
comprehensive solution
to the Arab-Israeli
conflict.
King
Abdullah II is committed
to building on the late
King's legacy to further
institutionalize
democratic and political
pluralism in Jordan. He
has exerted extensive
effort to insuring
sustainable levels of
economic growth and
social development aimed
at improving the
standard of living of
all Jordanians. He is
also working towards
modernizing Jordan's
information technology
and educational systems.
Under
King Abdullah's reign,
Jordan was admitted to
the World Trade
Organization, and
ratified agreements for
the establishment of a
Free Trade Area with the
United States of
America, the European
Union, the European Free
Trade Association
countries, and sixteen
Arab countries.
King
Abdullah II has also
been involved in the
drive for national
administrative reform,
as well as governmental
transparency and
accountability.
He
has been working on the
advancement of civil
liberties making Jordan
one of the most
progressive countries in
the Middle East. Also,
he has been involved in
enacting the necessary
legislations that
guarantee women a full
role in the Kingdom's
socio-economic and
political life.
King
Abdullah II married Queen
Rania
on June 10th, 1993. The
Royal Couple have two
sons, Prince Hussein,
born on June 28th, 1994,
and two daughters,
Princess Iman, born on
September 27th, 1996,
Princess Salma, born on
September 26th, 2000,
and Prince Hashem, born
on January 30th 2005.
The King has four
brothers and six
sisters.
King
Abdullah II holds a
number of decorations
from various countries.
He is a qualified
frogman, pilot and a
free-fall parachutist.
His other interests
include automobile
racing, water sports,
scuba diving and
collecting ancient
weapons and armaments.
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