Father Abdullah II Name Hussein, Prince | Religion Islam Mother Rania al-Abdullah | |
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Parents Abdullah II of Jordan, Queen Rania of Jordan Grandparents Hussein of Jordan, Princess Muna al-Hussein, Faisal Sedki Al-Yassin, Ilham Yassin Cousins Princess Ayah bint Faisal, Prince Omar bin Faisal Similar People Queen Rania of Jordan, Abdullah II of Jordan, Princess Iman bint Abdullah, Hussein of Jordan, Hashem bin Abdullah Profiles | ||
Hussein bin Abdullah (Arabic: حسين بن عبد الله, Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdullāh; born 28 June 1994) is the heir apparent of King Abdullah II of Jordan. According to Hussein, he is a 42nd-generation direct descendant of Muhammad as he belongs to the Hashemite family—who have ruled Jordan since 1921.
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He was born in Amman as the eldest child of Prince Abdullah and his wife Princess Rania. Abdullah was not expected to become king, until his father, King Hussein, changed the line of succession to Abdullah just a few weeks before his death in 1999. Abdullah replaced his half brother Prince Hamzeh with his son Hussein as crown prince in 2009. After finishing his high school education at King's Academy in Jordan, Hussein travelled abroad to obtain a bachelor's degree in international history from Georgetown University, and finally graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2017. The Crown Prince is a second lieutenant in the Jordanian Armed Forces.
Since reaching the age of majority in 2012, Hussein has functioned as regent on several occasions. He has also accompanied his father on a number of visits abroad and locally. Hussein is in charge of the Crown Prince Foundation which is responsible for a technical university, and a number of scientific and humanitarian initiatives. In 2015, at the age of 21, Hussein became the youngest person to chair a UN Security Council session in which he helped formulate resolution 2250 titled "Youth, Peace and Security"; the resolution was adopted unanimously. After graduating from Sandhurst, he made a global debut when he addressed the UN General Assembly in September, presenting Jordan. Observers speculated that he will start to play a more prominent role in Jordan and abroad.
Early life and education
Hussein was born on 28 June 1994 in Amman to the then Prince Abdullah and Princess Rania. Abdullah had met Rania, a marketing employee at Apple Inc. in Amman, at a dinner organized by Abdullah's sister Princess Aisha in January 1993—they got married six months later. Hussein is the namesake of his grandfather, King Hussein. Hussein says that he is the 42nd direct descendant of Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah, whose husband was Ali, the fourth caliph. The Hashemites ruled Mecca for over 700 years—until its 1925 conquest by the House of Saud—and has ruled Jordan since 1921. The Hashemites, the oldest ruling dynasty in the Muslim world, are the second-oldest-ruling dynasty in the world (after the Imperial House of Japan).
Hussein is the eldest child of Abdullah and has two sisters and one brother—Princess Iman, Princess Salma and his youngest sibling Prince Hashem. Hussein started his primary education at the International School of Choueifat and the International Amman Academy. Hussein finished his high school at King's Academy in 2012, he obtained a bachelor's degree in international history at Georgetown University in 2016, and finally graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2017. He is a second lieutenant in the Jordanian Armed Forces.
Heir apparent
Abdullah was not expected to succeed to the throne despite being King Hussein's eldest son, as the King had appointed his younger brother Prince Hassan as heir designate in 1965. Shortly before his death on 7 February 1999, the King replaced Hassan with Abdullah. When Abdullah became King, he named his younger half-brother, Prince Hamzah, as heir designate on his accession.
On 28 November 2004, King Abdullah removed Hamzah from his title as crown prince. Though the title of crown prince was left vacant, the Constitution of Jordan provides for agnatic primogeniture, meaning that the monarch's eldest son is automatically first in the line of succession to the Jordanian throne unless decreed otherwise. He thus became heir apparent as soon as his half-uncle lost the status, and analysts widely expected the King to bestow the formal title on Hussein. The title was conferred on 2 July 2009, when a royal decree was issued naming Hussein as crown prince effective immediately.
Official duties
Unlike the King's, the Crown Prince's role is mostly ceremonial under the Constitution, and the title is not associated with any political post. Hussein performed his first official engagement in June 2010, when he represented his father at the celebrations of the anniversary of the Arab Revolt and the Armed Forces Day.
Hussein has accompanied his father on both official and military missions. Hussein has also served several times as regent during the King's absence from the country. Hussein is in charge of the Crown Prince Foundation which is responsible for a technical university, and a number of scientific and humanitarian initiatives. The Foundation established the Haqiq initiative, which aims to encourage youth for volunteerism; a NASA internship program; MASAR initiative to encourage space technology innovation; Hearing Without Borders initiative that funds cochlear implants for Jordanians with impaired hearing. The interns from the NASA program have started to build a cubesat (mini satellite) named JY1–Jordan's first satellite aimed to launch in 2018. The cubesat project, funded by the Foundation, is named after the late King Hussein's amateur radio callsign.
In 2013, he participated in a training session with the members of the Jordanian special forces elite 71st Counter Terrorism Battalion. On 14 July 2014, Hussein visited the King Hussein Medical Center in Amman where some injured Palestinians who fled Gaza were receiving medical treatment.
On 23 April 2015, the then 20-year-old Prince Hussein became the youngest person ever to chair a UN Security Council session. During the meeting, the prince oversaw a debate on how to prevent youth from joining extremist groups. Ban Ki-moon, the then Secretary-General of the United Nations, said that Hussein is "not yet 21 years old, but he is already a leader in the 21st century." The Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2250 titled "Maintenance of international peace and security", the resolution was presented at the initiative of Jordan during the session that Hussein presided over.
In May 2017, during a session of the World Economic Forum that was held on Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea, Hussein made the welcoming speech. In September 2017, after having graduated from Sandhurst, he gave Jordan's speech at the UN General Assembly. Observers speculated that the Crown Prince will start to play a more prominent role in Jordan and abroad.
Personal life
The Crown Prince's Instagram account has more than 1.1 million followers (as of September 2017), posting pictures that showcase his hobbies. Hussein's hobbies include reading, playing football, motorcycling, and playing the guitar.