Abdullah II of Jordan

with their parents, King Hussein and Princess Muna, in 1964 Abdullah was born on 30 January 1962 at Palestine Hospital in Al Abdali, Amman, to King Hussein and Hussein's British-born second wife, Princess Muna Al-Hussein (born Toni Avril Gardiner). He is the namesake of his paternal great-grandfather, Abdullah I, who founded modern Jordan. Abdullah's dynasty, the Hashemites, ruled Mecca for over 700 years—from the 10th century until the House of Saud conquered Mecca in 1925—and have ruled Jordan since 1921. The Hashemites are the oldest ruling dynasty in the Muslim world. According to family tradition, Abdullah is the 41st-generation agnatic descendant of Muhammad's daughter Fatimah and her husband, Ali, the fourth Rashidun caliph. As Hussein's eldest son, Abdullah became heir apparent to the Jordanian throne under the 1952 constitution. Political instability caused King Hussein to appoint an adult heir in his place, choosing Abdullah's uncle Prince Hassan in 1965. Abdullah began his schooling in 1966 at the Islamic Educational College in Amman, and continued at St Edmund's School in England. He attended middle school at Eaglebrook School and high school at Deerfield Academy in the United States. Abdullah has four brothers and six sisters: Princess Alia, Prince Faisal, Princess Aisha, Princess Zein, Princess Haya, Prince Ali, Prince Hamzah, Prince Hashem, Princess Iman and Princess Raiyah; seven of them are paternal half-siblings. ==Military career==

headquarters He began his military career at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England in 1980, while he was a training officer in the Jordanian Armed Forces. After Sandhurst, Abdullah was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Army and served a year in Britain and West Germany as a troop commander in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (now the Light Dragoons). In 1994, Abdullah assumed command of Jordan's Special Forces and of other elite units as a brigadier general, restructuring them into the Joint Special Operations Command two years later. He became a major general, attended a course in defence-resources management at the American Naval Postgraduate School and commanded an elite special-forces manhunt in the pursuit of outlaws in 1998. The operation reportedly ended successfully, with his name chanted on the streets of Amman. ==Reign==

Accession and enthronement Abdullah joined his father on a number of missions, including meetings abroad with Soviet and American leaders. King Hussein frequently traveled to the US for medical treatment after his diagnosis with cancer in 1992. The king died of complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma on 7 February 1999. Abdullah's investiture took place on 9 June 1999. First year As king, Abdullah retains wider executive and legislative authority than is normally the case for a constitutional monarch. He is one of the few monarchs in the world who both rules and reigns. He is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Jordanian Armed Forces and appoints the prime minister and the directors of security agencies. The prime minister is free to choose his cabinet. The Senate is appointed by the king, and the House of Representatives is directly elected. In the early years of Abdullah's reign, which then ruled over a population of 4.5 million, it was reported that he frequently went undercover to see Jordan's challenges firsthand. In 2000 he said about his incognito visits to government institutions, "The bureaucrats are terrified. It's great." Abdullah cracked down on the Hamas presence in Jordan in November 1999 after pleas from the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The peace talks collapsed into a violent Palestinian uprising, the Second Intifada, in September 2000. Abdullah reportedly spearheaded efforts to defuse the political violence. 2000s On 23 June 2000, while vacationing in the Greek Islands, Abdullah received a phone call from the director of Mukhabarat (the country's Intelligence Directorate) warning of an assassination attempt against him by Al-Qaeda. The September 11 attacks in 2001 on American targets were fiercely condemned by Abdullah. The country's Mukhabarat foiled similar plots the following year against Western targets, including the American and British embassies in Lebanon. in the Oval Office, 28 September 2001 in Tehran, 2 September 2003 With the George W. Bush administration planning an attack on Iraq, accusing Saddam Hussein of possessing weapons of mass destruction, Abdullah opposed American intervention. In March 2003, during a meeting with George W. Bush at the White House, Abdullah tried to dissuade the president from invading Iraq. his stance precipitated an economic crisis triggered by the suspension of foreign aid and investment to Jordan. Failing to persuade Bush, Abdullah broke with domestic opposition. Jordan had received subsidized oil from Saddam Hussein's Iraq at a savings of about $500 million per year, equal to American aid to Jordan at the time. In 2004, Abdullah coined the term "Shia Crescent" to describe a Shia-dominated region from Damascus to Tehran (bypassing Baghdad) which promoted sectarian politics. in Jordan, 20 May 2007 Al-Qaeda in Iraq founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in Amman on 9 November 2005. It was the deadliest attack in Jordan's history; suicide bombers targeted three hotels, one of which was hosting a wedding. Abdullah and Jordan are viewed with contempt by Islamic extremists for the country's peace treaty with Israel and its relationship with the West. Jordan's security was tightened, and no major terrorist attacks have been reported in the country since then. Russian president Vladimir Putin visited Jordan for the first time in February 2007 and was welcomed by Abdullah. Abdullah established King's Academy near Madaba, the Middle East's first boarding school, in 2007 in appreciation of the education he received at Deerfield Academy. In 2007, it was reported that Jordan hosted 800,000 Iraqi refugees who fled the insurgency following the American invasion; most have returned to Iraq. In 2008, Abdullah became the first Arab head of state to visit Iraq after the 2003 American invasion. 2010s Arab Spring 2010–2014 The Tunisian Revolution in December 2010 (which unseated that country's president) brought Egyptians into the streets, and by January 2011 they overthrew president Hosni Mubarak. Protests in other Arab countries soon followed, resulting in civil wars in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Marouf Bakhit was appointed prime minister, but protests continued throughout the summer; Bakhit was seen as a conservative unlikely to push for reform. Khasawneh abruptly resigned in April 2012, and the King appointed Fayez Tarawneh as interim prime minister; it was the third government reshuffle in 18 months. In November 2012, the government cut fuel subsidies, driving up prices. The regime calmed the unrest by introducing reforms, amending about one-third of the constitution and establishing a Constitutional Court and the Independent Election Commission. Abdullah called for an early parliamentary election and appointed Abdullah Ensour to form a cabinet of intermittent government. with Islamic Action Front claiming earlier that election was performed in absence of actual opposition. in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., 26 April 2013 West Bank In December 2012, Abdullah was the first head of state to visit the West Bank after a United Nations General Assembly vote upgraded the Palestinian Authority to a nonmember observer state. Jordan sees an independent Palestinian state, with the 1967 borders, as part of the two-state solution and of supreme national interest. Jordan, the only country bordering the West Bank other than Israel, ruled it after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and lost in the 1967 Six-Day War. Its annexation of the West Bank was not recognized, and in 1988 the kingdom ceded its claim to the territory. Another 2013 article in The Atlantic advised him to address governmental corruption, saying that there "is a growing perception that the degeneracy reaches the palace". According to the article, Abdullah was accused of "illegally appropriating 'tribal' lands" shortly after his accession and members of 36 Jordanian tribes issued a statement denouncing Queen Rania's "publicized and extravagant" 43rd birthday party in 2013. Regional turmoil 2014–2019 The March 2011 outbreak of the Syrian Civil War forced masses of refugees across Jordan's border with Syria, about 3,000 refugees per day in the war's early stages. When asked about the Syrian conflict in an interview with the BBC in November 2011, Abdullah said that he would resign if he was in Bashar al-Assad's shoes. "Whenever you exert violence on your own people, it's never going to end well and so as far as I'm concerned, yes, there will be an expiration date, but again it is almost impossible for anybody to predict whether that is six weeks, six months or six years." About the unrest in Iraq, Abdullah told a delegation of US congressmen in June 2014 about his fear that the turmoil would spill across the entire region. He said that any solution to the problems in the war-torn countries must involve all the people of Iraq and Syria. Jordan began erecting barriers along its arid border with Iraq and border with Syria. Since then, hundreds of infiltration attempts have been foiled by Jordanian border guards who were also occupied with the flow of refugees. Jordan was involved in the CIA-led Timber Sycamore covert operation to train and arm Syrian rebels. In April 2014, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an al-Qaeda affiliate which emerged in early 2014 when it drove Iraqi government forces out of key cities, posted an online video which threatened to invade the kingdom and slaughter Abdullah (whom they saw as an enemy of Islam). "I have a message to the tyrant of Jordan: we are coming to you with death and explosive belts", an ISIL fighter said as he destroyed a Jordanian passport. In August 2014, thousands of Iraqi Christians fled ISIL and sought shelter in Jordanian churches. and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi, 24 November 2015 Shortly after Jordan joined the international coalition against ISIL in mid-September 2014, the country's security apparatus foiled a terror plot targeting civilians in Jordan. Shortly afterwards, Abdullah said in an interview that the country's borders with Iraq and Syria were "extremely safe". The same evening, Abdullah was welcomed in Amman by cheering crowds who lined along the airport road to express their support. As commander-in-chief, Abdullah launched Operation Martyr Muath, a series of airstrikes against ISIL targets during the following week targeting weapons caches, training camps and oil-extraction facilities. His retaliation was praised on the Internet, where he was dubbed "The Warrior King". Rumors had circulated that he personally led the sorties, although the government officially denied this. During a January 2016 BBC interview, Abdullah said that Jordan is at the "boiling point" because of the Syrian refugee influx, Jordan claims more than a million Syrians have sought refuge in Jordan. in the Diplomatic Reception Room, 19 July 2021 The November 2016 Jordanian general election was the first election since 1989 primarily using a form of proportional representation; intervening elections had used the single non-transferable vote system. Reforms encouraged opposition parties, including the Islamic Action Front (who had boycotted previous elections, including 2010 and 2013), to participate. The election was considered fair and transparent by independent international observers. Proportional representation is seen as the first step toward establishing parliamentary governments in which parliamentary blocs, instead of the king, choose the prime minister. However, the underdevelopment of political parties in Jordan have slowed down such moves. Abdullah established a close cooperation between Jordan and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Between 2013 and 2015, the ILO started programs in Jordan to support working opportunities for refugees in Jordan. In 2016, Jordan signed the Jordan Compact, which improved legal employments opportunities for refugees. After Donald Trump's inauguration as United States president on 20 January 2017, Abdullah traveled to the US on an official visit. Abdullah met Trump briefly at the National Prayer Breakfast on 2 February, and reportedly convinced him to change his policy towards Israeli settlements. According to The New York Times, the "encounter put the king, one of the most respected leaders of the Arab world, ahead of Mr. Netanyahu in seeing the new president." Senator Bob Corker confirmed Abdullah's influence in an interview: "We call him the Henry Kissinger of that part of the world and we do always love to listen to his view of the region." Abdullah criticized United States' decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. On 4 June 2018, Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki resigned from office. Abdullah moved former education minister Omar Razzaz to the position of the new Prime Minister and ordered him to conduct a review of the controversial tax system. On 25 June 2018, Abdullah made another official visit to Washington, DC. He was hosted by President Trump at the White House and they discussed "terrorism, the threat from Iran and the crisis in Syria, and working towards a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians". In August 2018, after the Trump administration had announced to end all US funding for UNRWA, Abdullah sought to replace the US funds. Jordan convened meetings of the Arab League and Western countries. 2020s with US President Joe Biden in February 2024 In an interview with Der Spiegel in May 2020, Abdullah criticized Donald Trump's plans for peace in the Middle East including Israel annexing parts of the West Bank. He stated, "The two-state solution is the only way for us to be able to move forward", and noted a possible Israeli annexation of the West Bank causes conflicts. In October 2020, Omar Razzaz resigned from his position due to the criticism of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Abdullah dissolved the parliament and instructed his chief policy adviser, Bishr Al-Khasawneh, to form a new government as the new Prime Minister. After Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, Abdullah was the first Arab leader to congratulate Biden for his victory. In April 2021, Abdullah ordered the arrest of his half-brother, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, and twenty other courtiers for what was called "sedition". Hamzah's removal as crown prince by Abdullah has been cited as a possible factor. 18 other Jordanian figures were also arrested, including Abdullah's controversial former Chief of Staff, former Saudi Arabian envoy and Royal Court Chief Bassem Awadallah. Royal family member Sharif Hassan Bin Zaid, who is hardly known in Jordan and whose father now resides in Saudi Arabia, was also among those arrested. On 7 April, King Abdullah II spoke publicly for the first time since the alleged coup and hinted that the Jordanian royal feud was over, stating that the "sedition" that caused him "pain and anger" was now buried and that Hamzah was now "in his palace under my protection." Abdullah also stated that the crisis began when Jordan's military chief of staff paid a visit to Hamzah and warned him to stop attending meetings with critics of the government. They discussed the Middle East conflict, the battle against COVID-19, and the relationship between Jordan and the US. Abdullah was the first leader from the Middle East to visit the White House since Biden's inauguration on 20 January 2021. in Washington, D.C., 11 February 2025 On 3 October 2021, Abdullah held a telephone conversation with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the first contact since the start of the Syrian civil war. They discussed bilateral relations after Amman fully opened borders with Syria. In October 2023, Abdullah condemned Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and the "collective punishment" of Palestinians in Gaza during the Gaza war. In February 2024, Abdullah called for an immediate ceasefire in the war, and called upon the US to restore funding to UNRWA. He also warned against the proposed Rafah offensive, arguing it would "produce another humanitarian catastrophe". In conjunction with several other nations, Abdullah and the Jordanian government arranged for aid packages to delivered to Gaza via airdrop. A video filmed by Jordanian TV station Al-Mamlaka depicted Abdullah personally taking part in one of these airdrops, which delivered food aid and medical supplies to affected areas. King Abdullah rejected President Donald Trump's proposal for Jordan to absorb Palestinians living in Gaza. On 26 February 2025, he met with Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa in Amman. Abdullah condemned Israeli attacks on Syria. ==Administrative reforms==

Economic King Abdullah proposed significant economic reforms to the country during the first decade of his reign. Jordan embarked on an aggressive economic liberalization program when Abdullah was crowned. Abdullah negotiated a free-trade agreement with the United States, the third free-trade agreement for the US and its first with an Arab country. Under the agreement, Jordanian exports to the United States increased from $63 million in 2000 to over $1.4 billion in 2015. Jordan's foreign debt-to-GDP ratio fell from more than 210 percent in 1990 to 83 percent by the end of 2005, a decrease called an "extraordinary achievement" by the International Monetary Fund. Abdullah's efforts have made Jordan the freest Arab economy and the ninth-freest economy in the world, according to a 2014 study by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty. in Davos, 25 January 2013 The king launched a number of initiatives to provide housing for Jordanian citizens, including teachers and those serving in the armed forces. Jordan was dependent on subsidized Iraqi oil for its energy. Jordan incurred $6 billion in losses. The shocks hit Jordan's tourism sector (a cornerstone of the country's economy) hardest, and tourist arrivals have fallen by over 66 percent since 2011. However, in 2017, tourism started to pick up again. Growth of the Jordanian economy slowed to an annual average rate of 2.8 percent between 2010 and 2016—down from an average of 8% in previous years—insufficient to accommodate the exponential growth of the population. In 2016, the debt reached $35.1 billion, 95 percent of the country's GDP. The increase was attributed to regional challenges, which decreased tourist activity and foreign investment and increased military spending; attacks on the Egyptian pipeline; the collapse of trade with Iraq and Syria; the expense of hosting Syrian refugees, and accumulated loan interest. Foreign aid covers only a portion of these costs, 63 percent of which are borne by Jordan. An austerity program was adopted by the government which aims to reduce Jordan's debt-to-GDP ratio to 77 percent by 2021. Political Abdullah was criticized during his early years for focusing on economic, rather than political reform. A committee was formed in February 2005 to formulate a blueprint for political reform in the country for the next decade. This National Agenda, finalized about nine months later, was never implemented. It included incorporating proportional representation into general elections, improving the judicial branch and respect for human rights, and tackling issues related to employment, welfare, education and infrastructure. The Agenda was reportedly never implemented due to conservative opposition. After the Arab Spring, a new election law in 2012 was enacted and used in the 2013 elections. It incorporated elements of proportional representation, and 27 of the 150 House of Representatives members could be elected accordingly. A number of political reforms were undertaken to curtail some of the king's powers, including amending about one-third of the constitution, establishing a constitutional court and the Independent Election Commission and improvements to laws governing human rights and freedom of speech and assembly. In 2014 and 2016, several constitutional amendments sparked controversy despite their overwhelming approval by senators and representatives. The amendments gave the king sole authority to appoint his crown prince, deputy, the chief and members of the constitutional court, the heads of the military and paramilitary forces and the country's General Intelligence Director. Proponents said that the amendments solidified the separation of powers, while critics claimed they were unconstitutional. Reforms introduced in the 2016 general election led Freedom House, a US-funded non-governmental organization, to upgrade Jordan to "partly free" from "not free" in its Freedom in the World 2017 report. According to the report, Jordan became the third most free Arab country, and that the change was "due to electoral law changes that led to somewhat fairer parliamentary elections." In September 2016, Abdullah formed a royal committee to make recommendations which would improve the country's judiciary. The committee finalized its report, which revolved around strengthening judicial independence and improving criminal justice, in February 2017. The Parliament approved the recommendations which included increased protection for women against violence and better trial procedures. A new law for people with disabilities was also enacted. On 15 August 2017, local elections were held for municipal councils, local councils, and governorate councils, which were added by a new decentralization law. The law intends to cede some central-government power to elected councils, increasing citizen participation in municipal decision-making. In a 15 August 2016 interview, Abdullah described the new decentralization law as "a very important link in the chain of reforms". On 10 June 2021, Abdullah announced the introduction of a new committee of 92 members chaired by former prime minister Samir Rifai. The tasks of the committee are to modernise the political system and to propose new laws for local governments. On 4 October 2021, the committee handed over its recommendations to Abdullah. The committee proposed draft laws for political parties and elections, as well as 22 amendments to the Jordan constitution regarding parliamentary work and empowering women and youth. In November 2021, Abdullah ordered the government to push for political modernization. The Cabinet of Jordan submitted draft laws to the parliament following the committee's recommendations. In December 2021, a parliamentary discussion on the constitutional amendment that would give more rights to women resulted into a fistfight between members of parliament. On 3 January 2022, the Jordan parliament passed an amendment to Article 40 of the constitution, which allows Abdullah to appoint or dismiss the chief justice, the head of the Sharia judicial council, the Grand Mufti of Jordan, the chief of the Royal Court, the minister of the court, and the advisors to the king. On 6 January 2022, Jordan parliament approved constitutional reforms by a majority of 104-8 including improvement of women's rights, lowering the minimum age for elected deputies to 25 and the prime minister being elected by the assembly's largest single party. Military Due to his military background, Abdullah believes in a powerful military and has followed a "quality over quantity" policy. During the first year of his reign he established the King Abdullah Design and Development Bureau (now Jordan Design and Development Bureau), whose goal is to "provide an indigenous capability for the supply of scientific and technical services to the Jordanian Armed Forces". The company manufactures a wide variety of military products, which are presented at the biennial international Special Operations Forces Exhibition (SOFEX)—Abdullah is SOFEX's patron. Abdullah modernized the army, leading Jordan to acquire advanced weaponry and increase and enhance its F-16 fighter-jet fleet. The King occasionally trains with the Jordanian army in live ammunition military drills. Energy sector , inaugurated by Abdullah in 2014, is the largest onshore wind farm in the Middle East. Vandalism of the Egyptian pipeline supplying Jordan strained the country's electrical company, whose debt increased substantially; this prompted Abdullah to urge the government to formulate a 10-year plan (2015–2025) to diversify the kingdom's energy sources. In 2007, Abdullah said that Jordan intends to benefit from its large uranium reserves by building nuclear reactors to generate electricity; the country is one of the few non-petroleum-producing nations in the region. Early on, in a 2010 interview, Abdullah accused Israel of trying to disrupt Jordan's nuclear program. Abdullah inaugurated Jordan's first nuclear facility in 2016. The Jordan Research and Training Reactor, in the Jordan University of Science and Technology near Ar Ramtha, aims to train Jordanian students in the school's nuclear-engineering program. The country has 330 days of sunshine per year, and wind speeds exceed 7 m/s in mountainous areas. During the 2010s, Abdullah inaugurated the 117 MW Tafila Wind Farm and the 53 MW Shams Ma'an Power Plant. After having initially set the percentage of renewable energy Jordan aimed to generate by 2020 at 10%, the government announced in 2018 that it sought to beat that figure and aim for 20%. A report by pv magazine described Jordan as the "Middle East's solar powerhouse". In 2014, a declaration of intent was signed by Jordan's national electrical company and Noble Energy to import gas from Israel's offshore Leviathan gas field, a 15-year deal estimated at $10 billion. Separately, Abdullah opened a liquefied natural gas port in Aqaba in 2015, allowing Jordan to import LNG. ==Religious affairs==

In response to Islamophobic rhetoric after the 11 September attacks, Abdullah issued the Amman Message in November 2004. The Islamic religious consensus was unprecedented in contemporary times. Abdullah also established an award, based on this initiative, for interfaith dialogue. and other Muslim and Christian religious sites in Jerusalem are in the custody of Abdullah, a position held by his dynasty since 1924. The Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem was under Jordanian rule from 1948 to 1967; it was under Hashemite custodianship since 1924, The sharif's son, King Abdullah I, is said to have personally taken charge of efforts to extinguish a fire which engulfed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1949. Jami’ Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock were restored four times by the Hashemites during the 20th century, and the custodianship became a Hashemite legacy given by Jordanian kings. Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel in 2014 following tensions at Al-Aqsa Mosque between Israelis and Palestinians concerned about Jordan's role in safeguarding Muslim and Christian sacred sites in Jerusalem. In 2016, it was announced that Abdullah would fund the restoration of the Tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Royal Hashemite Court informed Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem of the makruma (royal benefaction) in a 10 April 2016 letter. The tomb had been untouched since 1947, when the British installed steel support beams as part of a restoration project which never took place. It was reopened to the public on 22 March 2017 after the renovation. On 2 August 2017, Abdullah donated $1.4 million to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, the body that belongs to Jordan and is responsible for administering the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. An independent report estimates the total amount that the Hashemites have spent since 1924 on administering and renovating Jami’ Al Aqsa as over $1 billion. In 2014, Abdullah received Pope Francis in Jordan, the third papal visit of his reign. Abdullah led The 500 Most Influential Muslims 2016 list, published by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center, and was third on its 2018 list. Leaders of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre sent out a letter of support to Abdullah on 1 March 2018 after Israel shelved a proposed bill that aimed to propose new tax measures to churches in the West Bank. "Your defence of religious freedom and Your leadership, in ensuring that the Status Quo is respected and maintained, has been crucial in our ongoing attempts to guard and protect the Christian presence especially in the Holy City of Jerusalem", the letter read. ==Successor==

On 28 November 2004, Abdullah removed the title of crown prince from his half-brother, Prince Hamzah, whom he had appointed on 7 February 1999 in accordance with their father's advice. Hussein received the title on 2 July 2009. ==Personal life==

King Abdullah met Rania Al-Yassin at a dinner party in January 1993. On 10 June 1993, they were married at Zahran Palace. King Abdullah and Queen Rania have four children: • Crown Prince Hussein (born 28 June 1994 at King Hussein Medical Center in Amman), married Rajwa Al Saif on 1 June 2023 at Zahran Palace in Amman, they have one daughter: • Princess Iman bint Al Hussein (born 3 August 2024 at King Hussein Medical Center in Amman) • Princess Iman (born 27 September 1996 at King Hussein Medical Center in Amman), married Jameel Alexander Thermiótis on 12 March 2023 at Beit Al Urdun Palace in Amman, they have one daughter: • Amina Thermiótis (born 16 February 2025 at Prince Hashem bin Abdullah II Hospital in Aqaba) • Princess Salma (born 26 September 2000 at King Hussein Medical Center in Amman) • Prince Hashem (born 30 January 2005 at King Hussein Medical Center in Amman) Abdullah published an autobiography, Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril, in 2010. Abdullah's book contains insights into his childhood and behind-the-scenes accounts of encounters with political figures. The king promotes tourism in Jordan, and was a tour guide for Discovery Channel travel host Peter Greenberg on Jordan: The Royal Tour. In the program, Abdullah said that he is no longer permitted to skydive since he became king. When the producers of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen decided to film in Jordan, Abdullah called on military helicopters to help transport equipment into Petra. Abdullah also enjoys stand-up comedy. When Gabriel Iglesias, Russell Peters and a number of other stand-up comedians visited Jordan for a 2009 comedy festival, the king invited them over for dinner. In 2013, a video of Abdullah helping push a car stuck in snow in Amman during the 2013 Middle East cold snap went viral. In 2017, another amateur video that went viral showed Abdullah wearing pyjamas helping in extinguishing a fire in a wood near the royal palace. Wealth Abdullah owns an international network of real estate properties, valued in excess of $100 million. His ownership of the properties was disguised through a series of offshore companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Abdullah's property empire was disclosed in the Pandora Papers leak, which revealed ownership of three contiguous oceanfront estates in the Point Dume area of Malibu, and properties in Washington, D.C., London and Ascot. His lawyers denied any misuse of public funds or tax evasion and stated that they were bought from the monarch's private wealth and through offshore companies for security and privacy reasons. A 2022 Credit Suisse leak revealed that Abdullah owned six secret accounts, including one whose balance exceeded $224 million. A Royal Court statement said that the funds were a result of selling an Airbus A340 plane that belonged to his father the late King Hussein for $212 million, and that it was replaced with a smaller, less costly Gulfstream aircraft. ==Honours and awards==

Honours National honours • : • Grand Master of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali • Grand Master of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance • Grand Master of the Order of the Hashemite Star • Grand Master of the Order of Military Gallantry • Grand Master of the Order of the Star of Jordan • Grand Master of the Order of Independence • Grand Master of the Order of Military Merit • Grand Master of the Order of Al Hussein • Founding Grand Master of the Order of King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein for Excellence • Founding Grand Master of the Order of the State Centennial • Sovereign of the Al-Hussein Medal of Excellence : • Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (January 2001).\ : • Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (18 May 2016) : • Recipient of the Royal Family Order of the Crown of Brunei (13 May 2008) : • Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III (17 December 2021) : • Member 1st Class of the Order of the White Lion (11 February 2015) : • Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose (2010) : • Recipient of the Order of the Golden Fleece (29 May 2022) : • Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic (10 October 2002) : • Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (9 February 2001) • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (15 January 1987) : • Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (30 November 1999) • Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (November 1993) : • Recipient of the 10 Years of Astana Medal (18 May 2008) : • Member Extraordinary Grade of the Order of Merit of Lebanon (14 September 1999) : • Member 1st Class of the Order of the Grand Conqueror (1 September 1999) : • Member 1st Class of the Order of the Republic of Montenegro (2017) : • Collar of the Order of Muhammad • Grand Cordon of the Order of the Throne : • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (30 October 2006) • Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange (7 December 1994) : • Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (4 April 2000) : • Member Special Class of the Civil Order of Oman (4 October 2022) • Collar of the Order of Al Said (22 May 2024) : • Nishan-e-Pakistan (16 November 2025) : • Grand Cordon of the Order of Jerusalem (21 November 2015) : • Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru (31 May 2005) : • Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (26 September 1999) : • Grand Collar of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword (16 March 2009) : • Collar of the Order of the Star of Romania (20 December 2005) : • Gold Medal of the Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia (2002) : • Recipient of Grand Order of Mugunghwa (4 December 1999) : • Knight of the Collar of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III (21 April 2006) • Knight of the Collar of the Royal Order of the Isabella the Catholic (18 October 1999) • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Naval Merit, with white distinctive (15 September 1995) • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit, with white distinctive (23 December 1999) : • Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (7 October 2003) : • Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic : • Member 1st Class of the Order of Merit (22 June 2011) • Member 1st Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (23 April 2002) : • Collar of the Order of Zayed (1 November 2023) : • Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Military Class (GCB, 6 November 2001) • Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG, 12 May 1999) • Honorary Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO, 26 March 1984) • Recipient of the Sandhurst Medal Honorary degrees • 1 January 2001: Doctorate in political sciences, University of Jordan. • 3 September 2004: Doctorate, International Relations Institute in Moscow. • 21 March 2005: Doctor of Humane Letters for socioeconomic development in Jordan and promoting interfaith dialogue, Georgetown University. • 15 December 2005: Doctorate in political sciences, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. • 4 June 2008: Doctorate in civil law, University of Oxford. • 8 November 2011: Doctorate in humanitarian sciences for efforts in defending Jerusalem's holy sites, Al-Quds University (represented by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas). Honorary military appointments ; United Kingdom • Since 19 August 2003: Colonel-in-Chief of The Light Dragoons, British Army Awards • 16 March 2002: Young Presidents Organisation's Global Leadership Award (California). • 30 September 2003: Sorbonne Association for Foreign Policy award for political courage in France. • 20 October 2003: Pioneer in E-Business award, Arab Business magazine (United Arab Emirates). • 16 April 2004: INFORUM 21st-Century Award from the Commonwealth Club of California, awarded to young leaders who strive for positive change. • 9 June 2004: Golden Shield Award (Chicago) for efforts to stabilize the Middle East. • June 2004: Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award for Achievement. • On 21 March 2005: Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award, United Nations. • 21 June 2005: Simon Wiesenthal Center Tolerance Award. • 21 December 2005: Golden Medal of Athens Award. • 8 May 2007: Peacemaker Award, Seeds of Peace. • 8 October 2016: Peace of Westphalia Prize, Germany; • 16 November 2016: Peace prize (Kazakhstan) for contributions to security and nuclear disarmament. • 19 January 2017: Abu Bakr Al Siddeiq Medal (First Class) from the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organisation for Jordan's support of the Palestinian people and efforts on behalf of Syrian refugees. • 27 June 2018: Templeton Prize for promoting inter-faith dialogue, the awarding statement said that Abdullah "has done more to seek religious harmony within Islam and between Islam and other religions than any other living political leader." • 21 November 2019: Scholar-Statesman Award from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. • 9 May 2022: Path to Peace award from the Path to Peace Foundation of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. ==Writings==