Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah (formerly Rania Al-Yasin) was born in Kuwait on August 31, 1970 to a notable Jordanian family of Palestinian origin. She completed her primary and secondary education in Kuwait and in 1991 obtained a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo.

Upon her graduation from university, Queen Rania returned to Jordan and pursued a successful career in private sector banking, followed by a brief career in the field of information technology.

Their Majesties King Abdullah Bin Al-Hussein and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah were married on June 10, 1993. They have two children, Prince Hussein, born on June 28, 1994, and Princess Iman, born on September 27, 1996.

After her marriage to His Majesty, and stemming from her keen motivation to participate in the development efforts in Jordan, Queen Rania channeled her energies into substantive projects that aim to improve the living conditions of several underprivileged groups in Jordanian society. These include protecting the children of Jordan from abuse and encouraging their early development, while raising awareness on various health issues.

In 1995, Her Majesty established the Jordan River Foundation (JRF), a non-profit, non-governmental institution encompassing several projects with the overall objective of assisting vulnerable segments of Jordan's population in improving their prospects in a felt and sustainable fashion. Queen Rania is President of the JRF and adopts a hands-on approach in the daily running of its operations.

In the income-generating arena, the Foundation oversees several well-known projects in the kingdom that include Jordan River Designs, Wadi Rayan and Bani Hamida. These projects empower women to become skilled contributors to the Jordanian economy, while raising additional sources of income to support their families. These initiatives have encouraged the revival of an almost forgotten heritage of craft production and tribal rug-weaving.

In 1998, and under the direction of Her Majesty, JRF embarked on a micro-credit project that aims to deliver financing, business support and training for small businesses to assist them in launching, expanding and improving their operations. Long-term sustainability is the hallmark of this initiative, which represents a significant turn in the conceptual framework traditionally applied toward this sector in Jordan. The micro-credit project is an extension of Queen Rania's active affiliation with the Jordan Export Development and Commercial Centers Corporation (JEDCO) and stems from her interest in promoting the competitiveness of local industries.

Working closely with various international agencies, the Ministry of Social Development and the Jordan River Foundation, Her Majesty oversaw the launching of the Child Abuse Prevention Project which is the first of its kind in the Arab region. The project conceived a framework to create, under one institutional umbrella, the capacity to address both the immediate needs for protecting children at risk of abuse and the necessity of adopting a long-term campaign to modify public attitudes towards children.

Her Majesty spearheaded a fund-raising campaign which resulted in the establishment of a model center for primary and secondary prevention of child abuse in Hai Al- Ameer Hassan (a refugee camp within the Greater Amman District). The project will lead to the establishment of several safe-houses for abused children complete with psychological rehabilitation capabilities, a help-line with trained operators, and the capacity to aid parents in developing optimal child-rearing practices through various educational programs.

Furthermore Queen Rania is the President of the Jordan Society for Organ Donation. This organization focuses on mobilizing efforts to enhance cooperation between hospitals in order to better facilitate organ donations and transplants. Queen Rania also heads the Jordan Blood Disease Society which conducts awareness campaigns on the dangers of blood diseases, their causes, and the necessary precautions needed to avoid them.

In addition to her permanent affiliation with the aforementioned organizations, Queen Rania sponsors numerous events that promote economic growth as well as the educational, artistic, and cultural diversity in the Kingdom.

Queen Rania is fluent in Arabic and English. She enjoys reading, water skiing, running, cycling and cooking.