Abdullah II ibn al-Hussein (born January 30, 1962) is the current King of the middle-eastern nation of Jordan.
He ascened to the throne on February 7, 1999, when his father King Hussein died. Hussein had decreed him Crown Prince on January 24, replacing Hussein's brother Hassan. It was not a universally popular decision. Since Abdullah's mother, Antoinette (Toni) Avril Gardiner, was British by birth—she was renamed "Muna al-Hussein" upon her marriage to King Hussein, created a royal princess by her husband, and remains a popular philanthropic figure in Jordan—many people in Jordan considered it unfitting that he should be an heir to the Hashemite throne, which traces its descent directly to the Prophet Muhammad.
Abdullah is married to a Kuwait-born, Jordan-bred Palestinian, Rania Al-Yassin (now Queen Rania al-Abdullah), who is as praised for her philanthropic work as she is criticized for her frequent interviews to the Western press and her fondness for haute couture. They have three children: Prince Hussein (born 1994), Princess Iman (born 1996), and Princess Salma (born 2000).
King Abdullah is an acknowledged fan of Star Trek. In 1995, while he was still Prince, he appeared as an extra in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager (#36: "Investigation").
| Preceded by: King Hussein |
Kings of Jordan | Succeeded by: -- |
