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Rania Al-Abdullah

Rania Al-Yasin was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. She attended primary and secondary school at New English School in Kuwait, then gained a degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. After her graduation in 1991, Queen Rania worked at Citibank before taking a job at Apple Computer in Jordan.

She met Jordanian king Abdullah bin Al-Hussein, then Prince, at a dinner party in January 1993. Two months later, they announced their engagement and on June 10, 1993, they were married.

They have four children:

She has been an outspoken advocate of women's rights even though women’s rights have only slowly improved in Jordan. She was awarded the honorary rank of colonel in the Jordanian Armed Forces by her husband, King Abdullah, on June 9, 2004.

She was named the third most beautiful woman in the world in the 2005 top 100 of Harpers and Queens magazine. In addition, she was the youngest queen in the world at the time King Abdullah succeeded to the throne.

Her activities encompass issues of national concern, as well as several core issues that she has a special interest in:

Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences (AABFS) - a pioneering institute in the ME region offering technical and academic training in banking and financial servicesChild Safety Program and Dar Al-Amman (center for abused and neglected children, the first of its kind in the Middle East)

In 2004, Queen Rania chaired the nomination committee for the newly founded Forum of Young Global Leaders, associated with the World Economic Forum. She is also involved in the following initiatives: