Queen Rania (Queen/Mother/Activist)

Rania Al Abdullah (Arabic: الملكة رانيا العبد الله‎ Rānyā al-‘abdu l-Lāh) (born Rania al Yassin on 31 August 1970) is the current Queen consort of Jordan as the wife of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

She is one of the world’s most powerful women, and has focused her energy, at home and abroad, on a variety of causes, notably education.

Queen Rania has launched, championed, and given patronage to a number of initiatives in education and learning.

In Jordan, her work focuses on the calibre and quality of education for Jordanian children, while abroad she advocates for global education and for world leaders to fulfill their commitments towards the second Millennium Development Goals, Universal Primary Education.

Rania Al-Yassin was born in Kuwait to Palestinian refugee parents from Tulkarm. She attended school at New English School in Jabriya Kuwait, then earned a degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. Upon her graduation from university, Queen Rania returned to Jordan and pursued a career in banking, working for Citibank, followed by a brief career in the field of Information Technology, at Apple Computer in Amman.

In April 2008, Queen Rania launched “Madrasati” (“My School”), a public-private initiative aimed at refurbishing 500 of Jordan’s public schools over a five year period. In October 2005, the King and Queen launched, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, an annual teachers’ award, known as the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education.

Queen Rania established the Kingdom’s first interactive children’s museum to encourage and nurture lifelong learning for children and their families. The Children’s Museum of Jordan opened its doors to the public on May 23, 2007.

Queen Rania is also Chairperson of the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS).

At the higher education level, and as part of Queen Rania’s support for education and development, the Queen Rania Scholarship Program was established in partnership with several leading universities from around the world.