Miss Jordan ( ar, ملكة جمال الأردن) was a national

Beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

History

Miss Jordan was founded in 1959 and organized by Jihad Magazine under the directorship of John Halabi. It was an annual event held with the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities under Minister

Ghaleb Barakat Ghaleb Zaki Barakat (20 September 1927 – 6 August 2014) was a Jordanian politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities between 1967 and 1972 and was later posted as a diplomat to several United Nations institutions and a ...

. Miss Jordan featured contestants from both

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...

and

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

which was at that time under Jordanian administration. Usually, two titles were awarded at the pageant - "Miss Jordan" and the runner-up "Queen of Elegance". From 1959 to 1964, the pageant took place at the Hotel Philadelphia in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

and was later moved in 1965 to Hotel Panorama in the city of

Beit Jala Beit Jala ( ar, ) is a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at altitude. In 2017, Beit Jala had ...

. Ufemia Rizk née Jabaji became the first Miss Jordan 1959. The pageant became the national franchisee of

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss Int ...

in 1959 and sent the first ever international representative from Jordan to

the same year. Over the course of its eight-year existence, the winners and runners-up of Miss Jordan competed at

and other international pageants such as

Miss International Miss International (''Miss International Beauty'' or ''The International Beauty Pageant'') is a Japan-based international beauty pageant organized by the International Culture Association. First held in 1960, it is the fourth largest pageant i ...

and

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

. The pageant was held for the last time in 1966. The Arab-Israel war of 1967 led to the cancellation of the event indefinitely and the pageant has not been organized ever since. Subsequently, Jordan withdrew from

and all other major international pageants. Vera Jalil Khamis from

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

was the last Miss Jordan and representative of the country to

Miss World 1966 Miss World 1966, the 16th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 17 November 1966 at the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyceum Ballroom in London, UK. The winner was Reita Faria of India, first Asian delegate to win Miss World title. She was c ...

Jordan at International pageants

Miss Universe Jordan

Miss World Jordan

Miss International Jordan

Miss Intercontinental Jordan

References

{{Miss International countries and territories Recurring events established in 1959