A local and international humanitarian agenda
Born Rania Al-Yasin in Kuwait in 1970, to a Jordanian family of Palestinian origin, the future queen grew up in Kuwait and obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the American University of Cairo. She then moved to Amman, where she embarked on a career in banking, followed by a brief stint in the information technology sector. She married Prince Abdullah in 1993, a few months after they met at a dinner party. In 1999, Abdullah became the Hashemite kingdom’s ruler. He was the surprise successor to his father, King Hussein, who replaced his brother Hassan, crown prince for 34 years, with his eldest son as heir to the throne. The couple have three children: Prince Hussein, Princess Iman and Princess Salma. In 1995, Queen Rania founded The Jordan River Foundation, aiding low-income Jordanian families. In 1998, she oversaw the launch of the Child Safety Program, while The National Team for Family Safety was established in 2000 to protect victims of domestic violence. Also in 2000, Queen Rania was appointed to chair the Royal Commission on Human Rights, and in 2001 she was appointed head of the National Council of Family Affairs. She heads the national team for early childhood development and is on the steering committee of the Jordan National Museum. She is also working on the development of the first interactive museum for children. She is president of the Jordan Society for Organ Donation and the Jordan Cancer Society. On the international front, Queen Rania is a member of UNICEF’s Global Leadership Initiative; a member of the board of directors of The Vaccine Fund; a member of the board of the International Youth Foundation; honorary president of the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences as well as honorary president of the Arab Women Labor Affairs Committee of the Arab Labor Organization. She serves as chairwoman of the International Advisory Committee of the International Network on Water, Environment and Health, as well as chairwoman of the International Jury of the UNESCO prize for children’s and young people’s literature in the service of tolerance. Finally she is a patron of the International Osteoporosis Foundation.
