Prince Ali bin Al Hussein (; born 23 December 1975) is the third son of

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, and the second child of the king by his third wife, Queen Alia. He is also the half brother of

King Abdullah II Abdullah II (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

. He is a member of the

Hashemite The Hashemites (), also House of Hashim, are the Dynasty, royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz (1916–1925), Arab Kingdom of Syria, Syria (1920), and Kingd ...

family, which has ruled Jordan since 1921 and claims to be a descendant of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. In September 2015, Prince Ali announced his candidacy in the FIFA presidential election following

Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...

's resignation.

Early life and education

Prince Ali began his primary education at the Islamic Educational College in Amman. He continued his studies in the United Kingdom, the United States and graduated from Salisbury School in Connecticut in 1993, where he excelled in wrestling. Prince Ali is fluent in Arabic, English, and Circassian. In 1998 Prince Ali went on a publicized horseback journey to the Caucasus (

Circassia Circassia ( ), also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in . It spanned the western coastal portions of the North Caucasus, along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. Circassia was conquered by the Russian Empire during ...

), from Jordan through Syria and Turkey, to raise awareness of the Circassian diaspora worldwide. The trip traced (in reverse) the path of the exodus that brought the Circassians to Jordan.

Personal life

He is married to Rym Brahimi, they married on September 7, 2004. She is the daughter of

Lakhdar Brahimi Lakhdar Brahimi (Algerian Arabic, Algerian pronunciation: ; ; '; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria until 14 May 2014. He was Ministry of Foreign Aff ...

, former Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs and senior UN official. She was raised in Great Britain and Algeria and was educated in France and the United States. They live in Amman with their two children Princess Jalila bint Ali and Prince Abdullah bin Ali.

Career

In 1999, Prince Ali was asked to serve as commander of

′s Special Security in the Royal Guards. He served in that capacity until 28 January 2008, when the king entrusted Prince Ali with establishing and directing the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management. He is also the chairman of Jordan's Royal Film Commission - Jordan.

Football

Prince Ali is president of the

Jordan Football Association The Jordan Football Association (JFA; ) is the governing body for football in Jordan. Board members *President: Prince Ali Bin Hussein Current partners * Financial trading partner: CFI Financial Group * Official bank: Arab Bank * Official ...

. He is also the founder and president of the

West Asian Football Federation The West Asian Football Federation (WAFF; ) is a regional sub-confederation of association football, governed under the Asian Football Confederation. Founded in 2001, it governs football, futsal and beach football for nations in West Asia. The W ...

, and under his presidency the membership has increased to 13 countries. Prince Ali announced his candidacy for

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

President, representing Asia, on 7 October 2010. Ali's campaign focused on change, football ideals, and uniting and raising the profile of Asian countries, within FIFA and generally. Prince Ali won the election for the position of FIFA vice president, representing Asia (25 votes to 20 for his opponent Dr

Chung Mong-joon Chung Mong-joon or Chung Mong Joon (, born November 15, 1951) is a South Korean businessman and politician. He is the sixth son of Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Group, Hyundai, the second-largest South Korean ''chaebol'' before its breakup i ...

) at the AFC Congress in Doha, Qatar, on 6 January 2011. As FIFA vice president, Prince Ali served as a member of both the FIFA and AFC Executive Committees. Prince Ali successfully championed the lifting of FIFA's ban on the

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

in women's football. Ali was one of a number of FIFA officials to call for the publication of the Garcia Report into allegations of corruption surrounding Russia and Qatar's bids for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. in 2012, Prince Ali set up the Asian Football Development Programme (AFDP), a social enterprise focused on Asia and the Middle East which aimed to unite and transform communities through football, promoting respect and tolerance for others, fostering team spirit and developing talent. Its achievements include reaching over 80,000 young people directly through its projects, training over 500 coaches, administrators and referees in refugee camps, schools and clubs; distributing 100,000 footballs to young people's programmes and organizations and completing 30 projects across 25 countries. In October 2018, AFDP Global was launched at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

in London. AFDP Global's mission is to extend this work to all regions of the world.

FIFA presidential campaigns

Ali lost the 2015 FIFA Presidency election to

after resigning before second round voting took place. Blatter secured 60 more votes than Ali in the first round of voting, shy of the two thirds majority required to win in the first round, though with only a simple majority required in subsequent rounds Ali's defeat appeared to be inevitable. However, following Blatter's announcement in June 2015 that he would resign from the post of FIFA president amid the ongoing corruption scandal, Ali announced in September 2015 that he would run for FIFA president again in the 2016 special election. Ali finished third in the first round behind

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...

and Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, polling 27 votes. In the second round, Ali again finished third behind the aforementioned duo, garnering a greatly reduced total of 4 votes.

Honours

National

* **Knight Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance, Special Class **Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the Star of Jordan **Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence **Knight Officer of the Order of Military Merit **Knight of the Decoration of the Hashemite Star **Recipient of the Al-Hussein Medal of Excellence, 2nd Class **Recipient of the Administrative & Leadership Competence Medal **Recipient of the Administrative & Technical Competence Medal **Recipient of the Administrative & Training Competence Medal

Foreign

* : Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash of the

Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the Austrian national honours system. History The Decoration of Hono ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

* : Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour * : Grand Cross 1st Class of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* : Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

* : ** Commander Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order o ...

** Recipient of the 50th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Orange Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

* ,

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

: The Highest Esteemed Royal Family Order of Pahang (DK II)

Military grades

Prince Ali holds the rank of

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

in the Jordanian Armed Forces.

References

External links

*
Official BiographyWe Are Asia: Taking Our PlaceThe West Asian Football FederationThe Jordan Football AssociationFédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)The Royal Film CommissionHis Majesty King Abdullah II – Official Website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali bin Al Hussein 1975 births Living people Tuqan family House of Hashim Princes of Jordan Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Princeton University alumni Jordanian generals Jordanian people of Palestinian descent FIFA officials Sons of kings Recipients of Supreme Order of the Renaissance (Jordan) Recipients of the Order of The Star of Jordan Grand Cordons of the Order of Independence (Jordan) Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Jordan) Recipients of the Order of the Hashemite Star (Jordan) Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order First Classes of the Family Order of the Crown of Indra of Pahang Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic