Princess Basma bint Talal (born 11 May 1951) is the only daughter of King Talal and Queen Zein 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 ...

, sister of Hussein of Jordan and paternal aunt to the current king,

King Abdullah II Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...

Background

Basma's father became King of Jordan two months after she was born as a result of the assassination of her grandfather King Abdullah I in

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

. King Talal was forced to abdicate as King for health reasons in 1952, when Basma was one year old. He lived on until 1972. Her mother was Queen Zein (1916–1994). After her father's abdication, her older brother Hussein (1935–1999) ascended the throne, and her mother was queen regent until Hussein came of age in 1953.

Education

Basma was educated at Ahliyyah School for Girls in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; 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 as of 2021, Amman is ...

, then in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Benenden School Benenden School is an independent boarding school for girls in Kent, England, in Hemsted Park at Benenden, between Cranbrook and Tenterden. Benenden has a boarding population of over 550 girls aged 11 to 18, as well as a limited number of day ...

(where she was a friend of

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

) and

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where she read Modern Languages. In 2001, she was awarded a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree by Oxford University for a thesis entitled ''Contextualising development in Jordan: the arena of donors, state and NGOs''.

Marriage and career

Basma first married

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Timoor Daghistani in

on 2 April 1970. They had two children: Farah Daghistani and Ghazi Daghistani. In the late 1970s they were divorced. Basma went on to marry Walid al-Kurdi in Amman on 14 April 1980, and they also had two children: Saad al-Kurdi and Zein Al-Sharaf al-Kurdi. Since the late 1970s, Basma has worked to promote human development, gender equity and children's charities. Through forums that include the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

she contributes to the global debates on health, education, population and the environment.

Appointments

*Founder of the Queen Alia Jordan Social Welfare Fund (QAF) *President of the Arab Association for Women and Development (AWAD) *President of the

Jordanian National Commission for Women Jordanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Jordan, a country in the Near East * Jordanian culture * Jordanian people, see Demographics of Jordan * Jordanian cuisine * Jordanian Arabic * Royal Jordanian, an airline See also * L ...

(JNCW) *President of the

Jordanian Association for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides The Jordanian Association for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides ( ar, جمعية الكشاف والمرشدات الأردنية) is the national Scouting and Guiding organization of Jordan. Scouting was founded in Jordan in 1954 and became a member of ...

*President of Mabarrat Um al Hussein *President of Goodwill Campaign *Chairperson of the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development *President of

Save The Children-Jordan Save the Children Jordan is located in the Jordanian capital of Amman and represents the Jordanian branch of the UK's Save the Children, which has been working in Jordan since 1985. The branch is headed by its CEO, Manal Wazani, and Princess B ...

(SCJ) *President of the

Jordanian National Forum for Women Jordanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Jordan, a country in the Near East * Jordanian culture * Jordanian people, see Demographics of Jordan * Jordanian cuisine * Jordanian Arabic * Royal Jordanian, an airline See also * L ...

(JNFW) *Honorary President of the

General Federation of Jordanian Women A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

(GFJW) *President of the National Committee for Women's Affairs *Member of Board of Trustees for the Higher Population Council *Member of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

's Adolescent Health Programme Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, 1991–1993 *Honorary Human Development Ambassador of the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

since 1993 *Member of the

Global Commission on Women's Health, 1994 *Goodwill Ambassador of the

United Nations Development Fund for Women The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, french: Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme, ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the Internationa ...

since 1995 *Member of the United Nations High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development to the Secretary-General

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (; , ar, بطرس بطرس غالي ', ; 14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from 1992 to 1996. An academic ...

, 1995–1998 *Member of the

Earth Council Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

since 1996 *Member of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Culture and Development Steering Committee, 1996–1997 *Member of UNESCO International Panel on Democracy and Development, 1998 *Member of UNESCO Scientific Committee for the World Culture Report, 1998–2000 *Goodwill Ambassador of the

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies a ...

's (UNFPA) since 2001 *Member of the International Advisory Board of the International Council on Social Welfare since 2001 *Member of the

Earth Charter The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. Created by a global consultation process, ...

International Commission.

Title, styles and honours

Title

* 11 May 1952 – present: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan

Honours

National honours

* : Knight Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance, Special Class

Foreign honours

* : Grand Cross of the Order for Services to the Republic of Austria * : Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Most Esteemed Family Order of Brunei, Special Class * Iranian Imperial Family: Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the 2,500-year Celebration of the Persian Empire * : Paulownia Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

* : Member Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of ...

Awards

National award

* : ''Honorary Person'' for the International Year of Volunteers plus 10 - 2001

Foreign awards

* :

Honorary Degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

of the As-Syafiiyah Islamic University * : ''Dr. Jushichiro Naito International Childcare Award'' * ** ***

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

***

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in ...

of Pembroke College ** *** : Honorary Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

* : ''Woman of the Year 1995'' of the Arab Regional Preparatory Meeting for the

Fourth World Conference on Women The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. At this conference, governments from around the ...

** : Recipient of the UNESCO Golden Anniversary Commemorative Medal * ** ***

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws of the

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's coll ...

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 152 countries. It was established in 1928 in Parád, Hungary, and has its ...

World Citizenship Award The World Citizenship Award is an award of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). Launched in 1996, the award is given to people outside the Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting movement who have contributed to a better world in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basma Bint Al-Talal 1952 births Living people House of Hashim Jordanian princesses Princesses Royal People educated at Benenden School Alumni of the University of Oxford Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Order of the Precious Crown members Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star People from Amman Daughters of kings