Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah (born Rania Al-Yasin on August 31 1970), is the Queen of Jordan and wife of King Abdullah II. She is known for her business savvy, elegance and outspokenness.

Contents

1 Early life 2 Queen of Jordan 3 International Initiatives 4 External link

Early life

H.M. Queen Rania was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. She was the daughter of a medical doctor, and thus grew up in a comfortable home on the West Bank with her two siblings. She received a thoroughly Western education, first at the New English School in Kuwait City and then at the American University in Cairo, where she graduated with a business degree.

Queen of Jordan

She married Abdullah on June 10, 1993. They have four children:

• HRH Prince Hussein, * June 28 1994,
• HRH Princess Iman, * September 27 1996,
• HRH Princess Salma, * September 26 2000 and
• HRH Prince Hashem, * January 30 2005.

She has been an outspoken advocate of women's rights. As another mark of breaking traditional female roles in the Middle East, she was awarded the honorary rank of colonel in the Jordanian Armed Forces on June 9, 2004.

International Initiatives

In 2004, H.M. Queen Rania chaired the nomination committee for the newly founded Forum of Young Global Leaders, associated with the World Economic Forum.

External link

• Official site
• Modern photo from the 2005 World Economic Forum site