Royal Profile: HM Queen Rania of Jordan

Rania Al-Yassin aka  Queen Rania of Jordan, was born on 31 August 1970 in Kuwait to Palestinian parents from Tulkarm.

She attended the New English School in Jabriya, Kuwait, then received a degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. Upon her graduation from American University, she worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple Inc. in Amman.

Even before becoming Queen of Jordan she was actively involved in some of it's affairs. Her first venture was the establishment of the Jordan River Foundation (JRF) in 1995. The Jordan River Children Program (JRCP) was developed by Queen Rania to place children’s welfare above political agendas and cultural taboos.This led to the launch, in 1998, of JRF’s Child Safety Program, which addresses the immediate needs of children at risk from abuse and initiated a long-term campaign to increase public awareness about violence against children. The deaths of two children in Amman as a result of child abuse in early 2009 led Queen Rania to call for an emergency meeting of government and non-government (including JRF) stakeholders to discuss where the system was failing. In 2009, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her husband's accession to the throne, She launched a community champion award (Ahel Al Himmeh) in March to highlight the accomplishments of groups and individuals who have helped their local communities.

Since becoming Jordan's Queen in 1999, she has been actively involved in numerous organizations. She has been active both domestically in Jordan and internationally. In July 2005, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the King and Queen launched an annual teachers’ award, the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education. In April 2008 the Queen launched “Madrasati” (“My School”), a public-private initiative aimed at refurbishing 500 of Jordan’s public schools over a five-year period.In higher education, The Queen Rania Scholarship Program partners with several universities from around the world. Queen Rania is also Chairperson of the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS).

She met Jordanian King Abdullah bin Al-Hussein, who was a Prince at that time, at a dinner party in January 1993. Two months later, they announced their engagement. On June 10, 1993, they were married. The couple has four children:
  1. Crown Prince Hussein (1994) 
  2. Princess Iman (1996) 
  3. Princess Salma (2000) 
  4. Prince Hashem (2005) 

Her husband ascended on 7 February 1999, and proclaimed her Queen on 22 March 1999. Without proclamation she would have been a princess consort, like her mother-in-law, Princess Muna al-Hussein.

The Queen is active in social media, having her own personal Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. She primarily uses these sites to promote her numerous humanitarian issues.

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