Rania Al Abdullah

Rania Al Abdullah (born Rania Al-Yassin, 31 August 1970) is the queen of Jordan from 1999. As the wife of King Abdullah II of Jordan, Rania drew on her position as queen to advocate on behalf of numerous causes, including the rights of women and children. Rania, whose family was of Palestinian descent (her father was from Tulkarm, her mother from Nablus), was born and raised in Kuwait. After completing her primary and secondary education there, she earned a degree in business administration from the American University in Cairo (1991). In her early professional career Rania worked in the fields of banking and information technology. In January 1993 she met Abdullah, then a prince, at a dinner party, and they were engaged two months later. On June 10, 1993, Rania and Abdullah were married, and Rania became a princess. When Abdullah’s father, King Hussein, died in 1999, Abdullah succeeded him as king of Jordan, and shortly thereafter he elevated Rania from princess to queen. As queen of Jordan, Rania championed an array of causes, including the rights of women and children, access to education, environmental concerns, and the development of strong Jordanian communities. She founded