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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, aviator, and the father of
Queen Noor of Jordan Noor Al-Hussein ( ar, نور الحسين; born Lisa Najeeb Halaby; August 23, 1951) is an American-born Jordanian philanthropist and activist who is the fourth wife and widow of King Hussein of Jordan. She was Queen of Jordan from their marriag ...
. He is known for making the first transcontinental jet flight in American history and his service as chairman of
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
from 1969 to 1972.


Early life and ancestry

Halaby was born in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
.Najeeb Elias Halaby, Jr.'s Birth Certificate
/ref> His father was Najeeb Elias Halaby (March 17, 1878/1880 – December 16, 1928), a Lebanese- Syrian Christian who was born in Zahle and whose parents hailed from Aleppo, arrived in the United States in 1891. Halaby's paternal grandfather was Elias Halaby, a provincial treasurer or magistrate in Ottoman Syria, 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 The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
.


Career

Halaby was a graduate of The Leelanau School, a boarding school in
Glen Arbor Township, Michigan Glen Arbor Township is a civil township of Leelanau County, Michigan, Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 859 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. However, the population of the town expands rapidly duri ...
, 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 conside ...
(1937) and Yale Law School (1940), he served as a U.S. Navy test pilot during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. 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 Ed ...
, California, and landed at Patuxent River NAS, 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 n ...
'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 United States Objectives and Programs for National Security, better known as NSC68, was a 66-page top secret National Security Council (NSC) policy paper drafted by the Department of State and Department of Defense and presented to President Har ...
. 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 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
, having been appointed by President John F. Kennedy. Halaby was a proponent for the creation of the
United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...
, 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 after 1970, of Pan American World Airways. As Pan American World Airways chairman, he was present at the christening of the first Boeing 747 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 the state funeral 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.Najeeb Halaby, longtime university supporter and volunteer, dies at 87
/ref>


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halaby, Najeeb 1915 births 2003 deaths Administrators of the Federal Aviation Administration United States Department of State officials United States Department of Defense officials Kennedy administration personnel Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel American people of Lebanese descent American University of Beirut trustees Pan Am people Businesspeople from Dallas Military personnel from Dallas People from McLean, Virginia Businesspeople from Virginia Military personnel from Virginia Stanford University alumni Yale Law School alumni Hussein of Jordan Stanford University trustees United States Navy pilots of World War II