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

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 ...

, sister of

Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until Death and state funeral of King Hussein, his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemites, Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hu ...

and paternal aunt to the current king,

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 ...

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 Abdullah I (Abdullah bin Hussein; 2 February 188220 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan and its predecessor state Transjordan from 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emir of Transjordan, a British protectorate, until 1946, when he ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. 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 ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, then in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Benenden School Benenden School is a private 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 s ...

(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 King ...

) and

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

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

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

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 the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

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 (JNCW) *President of the Jordanian Association for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides *President of

Mabarrat Um al Hussein Mabarrat Um Al Hussein (Arabic: ''مبرة أم الحسين'', ''The Mercy of Hussein's Mother'') is a charity for boys in northern Amman, founded by the late Queen Zein Al Sharaf of Jordan in 1958. The facility works to provide shelter and educ ...

*President of Goodwill Campaign *Chairperson of the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development *President of Save The Children-Jordan (SCJ) *President of the Jordanian National Forum for Women (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 and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Mar ...

(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 list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

'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) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

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, , ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder. U ...

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

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992 to 1996. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Boutros-Gha ...

, 1995–1998 *Member of the Earth Council since 1996 *Member of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

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) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...

'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 The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

* : Member 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 ...

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 hon ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

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 symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

***

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, 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 ...

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 set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...

* : ''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 town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws of the

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association that supports Girl Guides, female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 153 countries. It was established in the year 1928 in Parád, H ...

: World Citizenship Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Basma Talal 1951 births Living people House of Hashim Jordanian princesses Princesses Royal People educated at Benenden School Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 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 Recipients of Supreme Order of the Renaissance (Jordan) People from Amman Daughters of kings