Queen Noor of Jordan explained

Consort:yes
Noor
Succession:Queen consort of Jordan
Reign:June 15, 1978 – February 7, 1999
Regnal Name:Noor Al Hussein
Father:Najeeb Halaby
Mother:Doris Carlquist
Birth Name:Lisa Najeeb Halaby
Birth Date:August 23, 1951
Birth Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.

Noor Al Hussein (Arabic: نور الحسين; born Lisa Najeeb Halaby; August 23, 1951) is an American-born Jordanian philanthropist and activist who is the fourth wife and widow of King Hussein of Jordan. She was Queen of Jordan from their marriage on June 15, 1978, until Hussein's death on February 7, 1999.

Noor is the longest-standing member of the Board of Commissioners of the International Commission on Missing Persons. As of 2023, she is president of the United World Colleges movement and an advocate of the anti-nuclear weapons proliferation campaign Global Zero. In 2015, Queen Noor received Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson Award for her public service.[1]

Family and early life

Queen Noor was born Lisa Najeeb Halaby[2] in Washington, D.C., U.S., the eldest child of Najeeb Halaby (1915–2003) and Doris Carlquist (1918–2015). Her paternal family is Syrian; her maternal family is Swedish American.[3] Her father was raised a Christian Scientist and was a Navy experimental test pilot, an airline executive, and government official. He served as an aide to the United States Secretary of Defense in the Truman administration, before being appointed by President John F. Kennedy to head the Federal Aviation Administration. Najeeb Halaby also had a private-sector career, serving as CEO of Pan American World Airways from 1969 to 1972. The Halabys had two children following Lisa; a son, Christian, and a younger daughter, Alexa. The children were raised nominally Episcopalian. Najeeb and Doris divorced in 1977. Doris, who was of Swedish descent, died on December 25, 2015, aged 97.[4]

Noor's paternal grandfather was Najeeb Elias Halaby, a Syrian-Lebanese businessman born in Zahle, and whose parents hailed from Aleppo.[5] [6] [7] He was a petroleum broker, according to 1920 Census records.[8] Merchant Stanley Marcus recalled that in the mid-1920s, Halaby opened Halaby Galleries, a rug boutique and interior-decorating shop, at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, and ran it with his Texas-born wife, Laura Wilkins (1889–1987, later Mrs. Urban B. Koen). Najeeb Halaby died shortly afterward, and his estate was unable to continue the new enterprise.[9]

According to research done in 2010 for the PBS series Faces of America by Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., of Harvard University, her great-grandfather, Elias Halaby, came to New York circa 1891, one of the earliest Syrian-Lebanese immigrants to the United States. He was a Christian as well as having been a provincial treasurer (magistrate)[10] as stated before by Najeeb Halaby in his autobiography Crosswinds: an Airman's Memoir. He left Ottoman Syria with his two eldest sons. His wife, Almas Mallouk, and their remaining children joined him in the United States in 1894. He died three years later, leaving his teenage sons, Habib, and Najeeb (her paternal grandfather), to run his import business. Najeeb moved to Dallas around 1910 and fully assimilated into U.S. society.[11]

Education

Halaby attended schools in New York and California before entering National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. from fourth to eighth grade. She attended the Chapin School in New York City for two years,[12] and then went on to graduate from Concord Academy.

She entered Princeton University with its first coeducational freshman class and received an A.B. in architecture and urban planning in 1974 after completing a 32-page long senior thesis titled "96th Street and Second Avenue."[13] [14] She was also a member of Princeton's first women's ice hockey team.[15]

Career

After she graduated from Princeton, Halaby moved to Australia, where she worked for a firm that specialized in planning new towns, with a burgeoning interest in the Middle East. Because of Halaby's Syrian roots, this had special appeal for her. After a year, in 1975, she accepted a job offer from Llewelyn Davies, a British architectural and planning firm, which had been employed to design a model capital city center in Tehran, Iran. When increasing political instability forced the company to relocate to the UK, she traveled to the Arab world and decided to apply to Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism while taking a temporary aviation facility research job in Amman. Eventually, she left Arab Air and accepted a job with Alia Airlines to become Director of Facilities Planning and Design. Halaby and the king became friends while he was still mourning the death of his third wife. Their friendship evolved and the couple became engaged in 1978.[16]

Marriage and children

Halaby wed King Hussein on June 15, 1978, in Amman, becoming Queen of Jordan.[17]

Before her marriage, she accepted her husband's Sunni Islamic religion and upon the marriage, changed her name from Lisa Halaby to the royal name Noor Al Hussein ("Light of Hussein"). The wedding was a traditional Muslim ceremony. Noor assumed management of the royal household and three stepchildren, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, Prince Ali bin Al Hussein and Abir Muhaisen (her husband's children by Queen Alia).[16] Noor and Hussein had four children:

Areas of work

Domestic agenda

Queen Noor founded the King Hussein Foundation (KHF) in 1979. It includes the Noor Al Hussein Foundation and eight specialized development institutions: the Jubilee Institute, the Information and Research Center, the National Music Conservatory, the National Center for Culture and Arts and the Institute for Family Health, the Community Development Program, Tamweelcom the Jordan Micro Credit Company and the Islamic microfinance company, Ethmar. She is the Honorary Chairperson of JOrchestra. In addition, Queen Noor launched a youth initiative, the International Arab Youth Congress, in 1980.[18]

International agenda

Queen Noor's international work focuses on environmental issues and the connection to human security with emphasis on water and ocean health. At the 2017 Our Ocean Conference, she delivered a keynote address on the link between climate change and ocean health with human security.[19] Queen Noor is Patron of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Founding and Emeritus President of BirdLife International, Trustee Emeritus of Conservation International, and an Ocean Elder.[20] She was also chair of King Hussein Foundation International, a US non-profit 501(c)(3) which, since 2001, has awarded the King Hussein Leadership Prize. She is the president of the international board, the governing board of international movement for the UWC movement.

She speaks Arabic, English and French.

Widowhood

King Hussein died on February 7, 1999, from lymphatic cancer. After his death, his first-born son, Abdullah II, became king and Hamzah became crown prince. In 2004, Prince Hamzah was unexpectedly stripped of his status as heir designate.[21] [22] On July 2, 2009, Abdullah named his eldest son as heir-apparent to the throne, thereby ending the previous five years' speculation over his successor.[23]

Noor divides her time among Jordan, the US (Washington, D.C.) and the United Kingdom (in London and at her country residence, Buckhurst Park, near Winkfield in Berkshire). She continues to work on behalf of numerous international organizations.[24] She also enjoys skiing, water skiing, tennis, sailing, horseback riding, reading, gardening and photography.[25] She held amateur radio callsign JY1NH, but the license has lapsed.[26]

Honours

National honours

Foreign honours

Awards

Books written by Queen Noor

See also

External links

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Notes and References

  1. http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2015/02/queen_noor_of_jordan_recieved_woodrow_wilson_award.html "Queen Noor of Jordan receives Woodrow Wilson award at Princeton's 100th Alumni Day"
  2. Web site: Queen Noor of Jordan – Queen . January 4, 2010 . PBS . January 29, 2024.
  3. Book: Mahajan, Vijay. The Arab World Unbound: Tapping into the Power of 350 Million Consumers. July 13, 2012. John Wiley & Sons. 978-1-118-23642-0. en. December 25, 2020. June 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210629172723/https://books.google.com/books?id=KbdqOxtdnHMC&q=Queen+Noor+Syrian&pg=PA328. live.
  4. News: Doris C. Halaby, mother of Queen Noor of Jordan, dies at 97. The Washington Post. December 30, 2015. January 5, 2016. 0190-8286. en-US. Matt. Schudel. January 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160104165828/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/doris-c-halaby-mother-of-queen-noor-of-jordan-dies-at-97/2015/12/30/8a243e3a-ae6b-11e5-9ab0-884d1cc4b33e_story.html. live.
  5. Book: Halaby, Najeeb E.. Crosswinds: an airman's memoir. 1978. Doubleday. 3. 9780385049634. May 31, 2020. August 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210829183003/https://books.google.com/books?id=5bQQAQAAMAAJ&q=Crosswinds+airman%27s+memoir+Halaby+Lebanon. live.
  6. Book: Noor, Queen. 2003. Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life. 9. Wheeler Pub. . 9781587244667. October 3, 2020. August 31, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210831224001/https://books.google.com/books?id=5YpYOXpfLxgC&q=Zahle. live.
  7. News: Najeeb E. Halaby, Former Airline Executive, Dies at 87. The New York Times. July 3, 2003 . September 4, 2017. December 26, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171226142446/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/us/najeeb-e-halaby-former-airline-executive-dies-at-87.html. live. Stout . David .
  8. News: Najeeb E. Halaby, Former Airline Executive, Dies at 87. The New York Times. David. Stout. July 3, 2003. May 22, 2010. October 16, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131016091652/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/us/najeeb-e-halaby-former-airline-executive-dies-at-87.html?pagewanted=1. live.
  9. Stanley Marcus. Minding the Store: A Memoir, 1974, pg. 39.
  10. Book: Gates Jr., Henry Louis. Faces of America: How 12 Extraordinary People Discovered their Pasts. September 2010. 65. NYU Press . 9780814732656. October 3, 2020. September 1, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210901084846/https://books.google.com/books?id=meYbj1E6Ki8C&q=Almas+Mallouk+Halaby&pg=PA65. live.
  11. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/profiles/queen-noor/6/ "Faces of America: Queen Noor"
  12. Web site: Portrait of a Princess to Be: Lisa Halaby's Friends Tell of Her Life Before Hussein . People.com . June 5, 1978 . May 25, 2017 . September 14, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160914195913/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20070994,00.html . live .
  13. Lucia Raatma, Queen Noor: American-Born Queen of Jordan, 2006.
  14. Web site: Halaby. Lisa. Princeton University. School of Architecture. 96th Street and Second Avenue. en. May 31, 2020. January 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210128074023/https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/dsp01zc77sq51m. live.
  15. Web site: Princeton University . Princeton University on Twitter: "Alumni Day trivia: @QueenNoor '73 was a member of Princeton's first women's team in which sport? Ice hockey." . . February 21, 2015 . May 25, 2017 . March 5, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305130032/https://twitter.com/princeton/status/569212659188551680 . live .
  16. Web site: Queen Noor of Jordan Biography. biography.com. January 20, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110610020305/http://www.biography.com/articles/Queen-Noor-of-Jordan-9542217?part=0. June 10, 2011.
  17. News: Hussein Marries American And Proclaims Her Queen. S.wren. Christopher. The New York Times . June 16, 1978 . June 14, 2018. en. June 14, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180614123223/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/16/archives/hussein-marries-american-and-proclaims-her-queen-no-national.html. live.
  18. News: Queen Noor Al Hussein celebrates her birthday . Petra News . August 22, 2015 . August 24, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305125951/http://petranews.gov.jo/nepras/2015/Aug/22/13000.htm . March 5, 2016 .
  19. Web site: 2017 Our Ocean Keynote Address . European Commission . August 2, 2018 . August 2, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180802193302/http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?sitelang=en&ref=I144422 . live .
  20. Web site: Her Majesty Queen Noor. King Hussein Foundation. www.kinghusseinfoundation.org. February 25, 2018. April 11, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190411003252/http://www.kinghusseinfoundation.org/index.php?pager=end&task=view&type=content&pageid=61. live.
  21. News: Jordan crown prince loses title . BBC News . November 29, 2004 . May 22, 2010 . July 5, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190705081707/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4050231.stm . live .
  22. Web site: Analyzing King Abdullah's Change in the Line of Succession – The Washington Institute for Near East Policy . Washingtoninstitute.org . November 29, 2004 . May 25, 2017 . November 4, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171104234713/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/analyzing-king-abdullahs-change-in-the-line-of-succession . live .
  23. http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-40771520090702 reuters.com: "Jordan's king names son, 15, as crown prince"
  24. Web site: Arab News . . May 25, 2017 . March 4, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032242/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9&section=0&article=40698&d=6&m=3&y=2004&pix=community.jpg&category=Features . live .
  25. Web site: Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan . Kinghussein.gov.jo . May 25, 2017 . March 9, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210309173353/http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/queen_noor.html . live .
  26. Web site: ARRL Special Bulletin ARLX001 (1999).
  27. Web site: Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour . de . 520 . November 1, 2012 . May 22, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200522081548/https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXIV/AB/AB_10542/imfname_251156.pdf . live .
  28. Web site: Modtagere af danske dekorationer . 2024-04-17 . Kongehuset . da.
  29. Italian Presidency Website, S.M. Noor Regina di Giordania
  30. Web site: Archived copy . May 17, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131003084708/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1994/11/11/pdfs/A34888-34888.pdf . October 3, 2013 .
  31. Web site: Archived copy . June 9, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131113101130/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1985/03/25/pdfs/A07788-07788.pdf . November 13, 2013 .
  32. Book: Nordenvall, Per. Kungliga Serafimerorden, 1748–1998. Kungl. Maj:ts orden. 1998. 91-630-6744-7. Stockholm. 44409530. April 11, 2021. June 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220615204113/https://www.worldcat.org/title/kungliga-serafimerorden-1748-1998/oclc/44409530. live.
  33. Web site: Blessed are the Peacemakers . December 6, 2022 . Catholic Theological Union . December 7, 2022 .

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