Global InformationAbdullah II of Jordan information
Abdullah II
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 Abdullah II in 2020 | |||||
| King of Jordan | |||||
| Reign | 7 February 1999 – present | ||||
| Enthronement | 9 June 1999 | ||||
| Predecessor | Hussein | ||||
| Heir apparent | Crown Prince Hussein | ||||
| Prime ministers | See list
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| Born | 30 January 1962 Amman, Jordan | ||||
| Spouse |
Rania Al-Yassin (m. 1993) | ||||
| Issue Detail |
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| House | Hashemite | ||||
| Father | Hussein of Jordan | ||||
| Mother | Antoinette Gardiner | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Allegiance |  Jordan | ||||
| Service/ |  Royal Jordanian Army Royal Jordanian Navy Royal Jordanian Air Force | ||||
| Years of service | 1982–present | ||||
| Rank | Field marshal | ||||
| Commands held | Commander-in-chief | ||||
Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein (Arabic: عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين, romanized: ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemite dynasty, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is considered a 41st-generation direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1]
Abdullah was born in Amman as the first child of King Hussein and his wife, Princess Muna. As the king's eldest son, Abdullah was heir apparent until Hussein transferred the title to Abdullah's uncle Prince Hassan in 1965. Abdullah began his schooling in Amman, continuing his education abroad. He began his military career in 1980 as a training officer in the Jordanian Armed Forces, later assuming command of the country's Special Forces in 1994, eventually becoming a major general in 1998. In 1993, Abdullah married Rania Al-Yassin, with whom he has four children: Crown Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma and Prince Hashem. A few weeks before his death in 1999, King Hussein named Abdullah his heir, and Abdullah succeeded his father.
Abdullah, a constitutional monarch with wide executive and legislative powers, liberalized the economy when he assumed the throne, and his reforms led to an economic boom which continued until 2008. During the following years Jordan's economy experienced hardship as it dealt with the effects of the Great Recession and spillover from the Arab Spring. In 2011, large-scale protests demanding reform erupted in the Arab world, which led to civil wars in some countries. Abdullah responded quickly to domestic unrest by replacing the government and introducing reforms. Proportional representation was reintroduced to the Jordanian parliament for the 2016 election, a move which he said would eventually lead to establishing parliamentary government, but government critics remained skeptical, viewing the reforms as cosmetic changes. The reforms took place amid unprecedented challenges stemming from regional instability, including an influx of 1.4 million Syrian refugees.
Abdullah is known for promoting interfaith dialogue and a moderate understanding of Islam. The longest-serving current Arab leader, he is custodian of the Muslim and Christian religious sites in Jerusalem, a position held by his dynasty since 1924.[2] The 2021 Pandora Papers revealed Abdullah's vast hidden wealth through offshore entities, countered by the Royal Court citing privacy and security reasons, attributing the funds to inherited wealth.[3][4]
- ^ Corboz, Elvire (2015). Guardians of Shi'ism: Sacred Authority and Transnational Family Networks. Edinburgh University Press. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-7486-9144-9.
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:4was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Drucker, Jesse; Hubbard, Ben (20 February 2022). "Vast Leak Exposes How Credit Suisse Served Strongmen and Spies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 February 2022.