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Abdu'llah II bin al-Hussein al Hashimi, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan () (born January 30, 1962, in Amman, Jordan), has been the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan since February 7, 1999. He is reportedly a 43rd-generation direct descendant of Mohammad.
Abdullah's parents are King Hussein and Princess Muna al-Hussein, born Antoinette (Toni) Avril Gardiner.
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.
In 1980, he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom 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.
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:
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) [1], was English by birth (born in Chelmondiston). The King's mixed Arab and English ancestry was a matter of contention for many.
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. As a result of these reforms, Jordan's economic growth has doubled to 6% annually under King Abdullah's rule compared to the latter half of the 1990s.[2]
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. King Abdullah has shown more consistency on economic than political change, handpicking liberals and technocrats to implement market-oriented reforms while sticking to mostly center-right prime ministers to ensure that political opening is on a slower track to fit traditional forms of society.
During the eight years of reign, King Abdullah II has been working hard for the Middle East Peace Process, attending the Arab Summit in 2002, OIC conferences and having several summits with US, Israeli and Palestinian delegations to find a just solution for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. In domestic policies, the King on March 2, 2007 announced municipal elections in Jordan and in November 25, 2006 in his parliament address, told the parliament to work on reforms of the press and publication law. [3]
On March 7, 2007, the King gave a historical speech lasting about 30 minutes to a U.S. joint congress meeting urging the U.S. to take action in finding a solution to the Middle East Conflict[4].
Human Rights Watch has issued many publications that denounce King Abdullah’s interior policies, particularly his views on torture and abuse.
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 [11].
On January 20 2007, King Abdullah revealed to Haaretz that Jordan has plans to develop nuclear power strictly for internal energy purposes[12]. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jordan is one of the poorest countries in terms of access to drinking water, and thus his citizens are skeptical of King Abdullah's plans for making Jordan a powerful country capable of developing nuclear energy[14].
BBC international published an article titled "Jordan edging towards democracy", where King Abdullah expressed his intentions of making Jordan a democratic country. According to the article president George W. Bush "urged King Abdullah, a US ally, to take steps towards democracy after being questioned about alleged human rights abuse in Jordan at a Washington news conference"[15].