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Najeeb Elias "Jeeb" Halaby Jr. ( ar, نجيب إلياس حلبي; November 19, 1915 – July 2, 2003) was an American businessman, government official,
/ref> His father was Najeeb Elias Halaby (March 17, 1878/1880 – December 16, 1928), a Lebanese-
Najeeb Halaby, longtime university supporter and volunteer, dies at 87
/ref>
aviator
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
, and the father of Queen Noor of Jordan. He is known for making the first transcontinental jet flight in American history and his service as chairman of Pan Am from 1969 to 1972.
Early life and ancestry
Halaby was born in Dallas, Texas.Najeeb Elias Halaby, Jr.'s Birth Certificate/ref> His father was Najeeb Elias Halaby (March 17, 1878/1880 – December 16, 1928), a Lebanese-
Syrian
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
Christian who was born in Zahle and whose parents hailed from Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
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, arrived in the United States in 1891. Halaby's paternal grandfather was Elias Halaby, a provincial treasurer or magistrate in Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...
, who also came to the United States in 1891.
Halaby's father worked as an importer, and later as an oil broker; in the mid-1920s he opened Halaby Galleries, a rug boutique and interior-decorating shop, at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, and ran it with his American wife, Halaby's mother, the former Laura Wilkins (April 23, 1889 – April 1987). His father died shortly afterward, and his estate was unable to continue the new enterprise. Following the death of Halaby's father, Laura Halaby married Urban B. Koen, but they ultimately divorced. Halaby's maternal grandfather was John Thomas Wilkins, who served in the 7th Tennessee Cavalry during the American Civil War.
Career
Halaby was a graduate of The Leelanau School, aboarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
in Glen Arbor Township, Michigan
Glen Arbor Township is a civil township of Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 859 at the 2010 census. However, the population of the town expands rapidly during the summer months as a result of it being a summer ...
, and is enshrined in that school's Hall of Fame. An alumnus of Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
(1937) and Yale Law School (1940), he served as a U.S. Navy test pilot during World War II. On May 1, 1945, Halaby made history by making the first transcontinental jet flight in U.S. history. Halaby took off from Muroc AFB
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, California, and landed at Patuxent River NAS
Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River.
It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Sys ...
, Maryland, 5 hours and 40 minutes later.
After the war he served as the U.S. State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
's civil aviation advisor to King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, helping the King develop Saudi Arabian Airlines
Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...
. Next, he worked as an aide to Secretary of Defense James Forrestal in the late 1940s, then helped Paul Nitze write NSC 68. He joined Laurance Rockefeller's family office in 1953, reviewing investments in civil aviation.
From 1961 to 1965, he served as the second Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) – the future Federal Aviation Administration, having been appointed by President John F. Kennedy. Halaby was a proponent for the creation of the United States Department of Transportation, which occurred in April 1967 during his time in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. During his tenure as FAA administrator, he also was the lead proponent of the Boeing 2707 Supersonic Jet. President Johnson signed Executive Order 11149 approving $1 billion to build a US made SST, but eventually the project was cancelled in 1971 because of its cost.
From 1969 to 1972, he served as CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, and chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
after 1970, of Pan American World Airways. As Pan American World Airways chairman, he was present at the christening of the first Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
aircraft.
Personal life
Halaby was married three times. He married Doris Carlquist in Washington, D.C., on December 24, 1945 until he divorced her in 1977. They had three children: daughter Lisa, who became Queen of Jordan in 1978; son Christian; and daughter Alexa. He attended thestate funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...
of his son-in-law King Hussein as a member of the United States delegation in February, 1999.
He was married to the former Jane Allison Coates from 1980 until her death in 1996. From 1997 until his death in 2003 at age 87, he was married to Libby Anderson Cater./ref>
References