Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein (; born 11 October 1963) is a Jordanian prince who is a 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 ...

and Princess Muna, and the younger 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 ...

. Periodically he has served as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

during his brother's absences abroad.

Early life

Faisal was born in 11 October 1963 at Palestine Hospital in Al Abdali,

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 ...

, He was early schooling in Amman, Faisal was sent in 1970 to his mother's native

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

where he attended St. Edmund's School in

Hindhead Hindhead is a village in the Waverley, Surrey, Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England. It is the highest village in the county and its buildings are between and above sea level. The village forms part of the Haslemere parish. Situ ...

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 ...

. In the following year, he moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he attended the Bement School in

Deerfield, Massachusetts Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachus ...

for the next two years. He then moved schools again, this time to Eaglebrook School, also in Deerfield. In 1978, Faisal commenced his high school education at St. Albans School in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, from which he graduated in 1981. His initial university education was at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

from which he graduated in 1985 with a ScB degree in electrical engineering. The prince also earned a master's degree in management from the

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degree, Master's degrees in management and finance, Master of B ...

in 1988. During his university years, Faisal took flying lessons and obtained a private pilot's license.

Military service

Prior to graduating from Brown University, Faisal served in the

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; Arabic: سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, ''Silāḥ al-Jaww al-Malakī al-ʾUrdunī'') is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. Founded in 1955, the RJAF serves as the primary ...

(RJAF), where he received helicopter training. In the summer of 1985, he gained his RJAF wings and then underwent officer training with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Cranwell Cranwell is a village in the civil parish of Cranwell, Brauncewell and Byard's Leap, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north-west from Sleaford and south-east from Lincoln. The principal ...

. Remaining at Cranwell, he did his RAF Basic Flying Training in 1986 before moving to

RAF Valley Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley () is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training using the Beechcraft Texan T. ...

where he completed Advanced Flying Training on jets and received his RAF wings in 1987. Later that year, Feisal completed further flying training at the Tactical Weapons Unit, at Chivenor in Devon. In September 2004, Faisal was appointed an assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the rank of Lieutenant General. He retired from the

Royal Jordanian Army The Royal Jordanian Army (Arabic: اَلْقُوَّاتُ ٱلْبَرِّيَّةُ ٱلْأُرْدُنِيَّةُ; ) is the ground force branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF). It draws its origins from units such as the Arab Legion, ...

in December 2017.

Other ventures

Faisal has been President of the Jordan Olympic Committee since 2003 and Chairman and Founder of Generations For Peace since 2007, a non-profit peace building organization, the brainchild of his ex-wife Sarah Kabbani who was also his advisor for many years before their marriage. Following a period of strategic development and implementation of unique peace through sport programs run jointly by Sarah and Faisal, he was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2010. In 2019, he was elected on to the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

's Executive Board and is, as of 2023, Chair of the IOC's Safeguarding Working Group, Chair of the Prevention of Harassment and Abuse in Sport Working Group and Vice Chair of the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commission. Faisal has also been a member of the Olympic Council of Asia’s Executive Board since 2007, through his role as their Peace Through Sport Committee chair, while he is an Ex Officio Member of the Association of National Olympic Committees’ Executive Council due to his position as Chair of the Gender Equity Commission. In September 2024, he was announced as one of seven candidates in the running to succeed

Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former foil fencer, and Olympic gold medalist. He has served as the ninth president of the International Olympic Committee since 2013, the first ever Olympic champion to be elected to tha ...

as IOC president. He received just two votes at the

144th IOC Session The 144th IOC Session was held in Costa Navarino, Pylos, Greece, from 18 to 21 March 2025. At this session, Zimbabwean former Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry was elected as the tenth President of the International Olympic Committee, becoming the ...

in March 2025, with

Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward (née Coventry; born 16 September 1983) is a Zimbabwean politician, sports administrator and former competitive swimmer. She will become the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee in June 2025, being ...

winning the election. From time to time, he has served as regent while his brother the king was out of the country.

Personal life

Faisal has married three times. He married for the first time in August 1987. The bride,

Alia Tabbaa Princess Alia Tabbaa (, born 15 September 1964) is the first wife of Prince Faisal bin Hussein. She is the daughter of Sayyid Tawfik Al-Tabbaa and Lamia Addem. Her father was a well-known and respected Damascus, Damascene businessman, and the fo ...

is the daughter of

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

Tawfik al-Tabbah, founder and president of

Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Airlines (formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines) is the flag carrier of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at ...

Airlines and his wife, Lamia Addem. They have four children together: * Princess Ayah (11 February 1990) * Prince Omar (22 October 1993) * Princess Sara (27 March 1997) (twin of Aisha) * Princess Aisha (27 March 1997) (twin of Sara) Faisal and Alia divorced in April 2008.His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Ibn Al-Hussein of Jordan to deliver opening session keynote address at WaterSmart Innovations
Faisal was then married to Sara Bassam Qabbani. They were engaged on 20 March 2010 in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and were married on 24 May 2010. Faisal and Sara were divorced on 14 September 2013. The couple had no children together. On 4 January 2014, Faisal married Jordanian radio presenter Zeina Lubbadeh, daughter of businessman Fares Lubbadeh. The wedding ceremony was held at her parents' home in

Amman, Jordan 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 List of largest cities in the ...

. The couple have two sons: *Prince Abdullah bin Faisal (born 17 February 2016) *Prince Muhammad bin Faisal (born 8 April 2017)

Honours

National honours

Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance, Special ClassOlympic.org
list of Honours of Prince Faisal
/ref> * Order of the Star of Jordan - Grand Cordon

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Star of Jordan * Grand Cordon of the

Order of Independence Order of Independence or Independence Order () is a Vietnamese decoration. Criteria The Vietnamese government states that the decoration "shall be conferred or posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or med ...

* Grand Cordon of the Order of Military Merit * Al-Hussein Medal for Excellence

Recipient of the Al-Hussein Medal of Excellence, 1st Class *

Recipient of the Long Service Medal * Recipient of the Administrative and Leadership Competence Medal * Medal for Administrative and Technical Competence

Medal for Administrative and Technical Competence

Recipient of the Administrative and Technical Competence Medal * Recipient of the Administrative and Training Competence Medal

Foreign honours

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins () is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean state, the independentist gener ...

* : Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour * : Member 1st Class of the Order of Sultan Qaboos * : 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 ...

* : Special Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Cloud and Banner The Order of the Cloud and Banner () also known as the Order of the Resplendent Banner is a military award of the Republic of China. It was instituted on June 15, 1935 and is awarded in nine grades for contributions to national security. The insig ...

* : Commander of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Feisal bin Al Hussein, Prince 1963 births Living people Princes of Jordan House of Hashim Jordanian generals Brown University alumni Alumni of London Business School Royal Jordanian Air Force personnel Jordanian people of English descent Air force generals Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Jordanian International Olympic Committee members 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) Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of Sultan Qaboos Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Recipients of the Order of the Cloud and Banner St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni Sons of kings