Ra'ad bin Zeid ( ar, رعد بن زيد; born 18 February 1936) is the son of Prince Zeid of the

Hashemite The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921� ...

House and Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid (''Fakhr un-nisa'' or ''Fahr-El-Nissa''), a Turkish noblewoman. Upon the death of his father on 18 October 1970, he inherited the position as head of the former Royal Houses of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. Ra'ad has lived in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Early life

Raad was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, where his father was Iraqi ambassador at the time. He is an agnatic grandson of king Hussein of Hejaz, his father prince Zeid being king Hussein's youngest son. As such he is a first cousin of kings

Talal of Jordan Talal bin Abdullah ( ar, طلال بن عبد الله, ; 26 February 1909 – 7 July 1972) was King of Jordan from the assassination of his father, King Abdullah I, on 20 July 1951 until his forced abdication on 11 August 1952. As a member of ...

and

Ghazi of Iraq Ghazi ibn Faisal ( ar, غازي ابن فيصل, Gâzî ibn-i Faysal) (21 March 1912 – 4 April 1939) was the King of Iraq from 1933 to 1939 having been briefly Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Syria in 1920. He was born in Mecca, the only son ...

. Raad's paternal first cousin once removed was

Faisal II Faisal II ( ar, الملك فيصل الثاني ''el-Melik Faysal es-Sânî'') (2 May 1935 – 14 July 1958) was the last King of Iraq. He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he was killed during the 14 July Revolution. This regici ...

, the last king of Iraq, who was killed at the age of 23 in a bloody coup d'état on 14 July 1958 (Crown Prince Abd-al-Illah was also killed). Following the revolution, Prince Zeid, Raad's father, was recognized as the Head of the Royal House of Iraq by his remaining agnatic co-heirs of Jordan. They continued to live in

, where the family resided during the coup, as Zeid was the

i ambassador there. Raad himself succeeded his father as all such at the latter's death in 1970 in exile in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Education and career

He was educated in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, and at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1960, promoted to MA in 1963. After receiving his

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

degree, Raad was appointed as

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

of the Royal Court of

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 ...

, in Amman, and afterwards worked there in civil administration and

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

s. He was an aide and a close confidant of his cousins kings

Hussein Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...

and Abdullah II of Jordan.

Marriage and children

Prince Raad married at

Södertälje Södertälje ( , ) is a city in Södermanland and Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. As of 2017, it has 72,704 inhabitants. Södertälje is located at Mälarens confluence in to the Baltic Sea through the lock in the ...

, Sweden, 30 June 1963 (civil), and at the Royal Palace, Amman, on 5 August 1963,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-born Margaretha Inga Elisabeth Lind, henceforward known as Majda Ra'ad, President of Al-Hussein Society and Director of Bandak Foundation, born in

Arboga Arboga () is a locality and the seat of Arboga Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden with 10,330 inhabitants in 2010. Overview The city of Arboga is known to have existed as a town since the 13th century but the area has been inhabited sinc ...

on 5 September 1942, daughter of Sven Gustav Lind and wife Carin Inga Birgitta Gunlaug Grönwall, daughter of Eugen Assar Alexius Grönwall and wife, Signe Maria Svensson, and an illegitimate descendant of the House of Vasa through King

Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

. They have five children: * Zeid bin Ra'ad - Jordanian diplomat, served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2014 to 2018. Born 26 January 1964, married to Sarah Butler They have 3 children, Ra'ad bin Zeid (born 17 May 2001), Hala bint Zeid (born 13 March 2003) and Azizah. * Mired bin Ra'ad - born 11 June 1965, married to Dina Khalifeh. They have 3 children, Shirin bint Mir'ed (born 19 May 1993), Rakan bin Mir'ed (born 20 November 1995) and Jafar bin Mir'ed (Born: 4 September 2002). * Firas bin Ra'ad - born 12 October 1969, married to Dana Nabil Toukan. They have 3 children, Safa (born 26 July 2001), Haya (born 7 March 2003) and Hashem (born 31 October 2010). * Faisal bin Ra'ad - born 6 March 1975, graduated from Brown University, and married to . She worked with

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

in Baghdad covering the Iraq war. She's the daughter of Munjid Sukhtian. They have 3 children, Hanan (born 3 September 2006), Mariam (born: 25 July 2008) and Hussein (born April 2013). * Fakhrelnissa bint Ra'ad - born 11 January 1981, graduated from Brown University in 2002 and UCL in 2004. Artist known as ''Nissa Raad''. Married in 2005 (divorced in 2017). She has 3 children, Radwan Hajjar (born 8 August 2006), Faisal Hajjar (born 14 December 2007) and a daughter Lana Hajjar (born 30 April 2012).

Royal House of Iraq

Prince Raad's position as the head of the Royal House of Iraq is in contention with

Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein ( ar, الشريف علي بن الحسين; 1956 – 14 March 2022) was the leader of the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchy political party and claimed to be the legitimate heir to the position of King of Iraq, based on ...

(a descendant of Hussein of Hejaz's granddaughter, sister and male cousin, but not in male line from king Hussein) who is another

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the Iraqi throne and the leader of the Iraqi Constitutional Monarchy.

Ancestry

Honour

* Malaysia: Honorary Commander of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(P.M.N.) (1965)

References

External links

Ra'ad bin Zeid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeid, Ra'ad bin 1936 births People from Berlin House of Hashim Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Politics of Iraq Pretenders to the Iraqi throne Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Living people Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Grand Cordons of the Order of Independence (Jordan) Grand Officers of the Order of Leopold II Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Honorary Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm