Princess Ghida Talal (née Ghida Salaam; born 11 July 1963) is the chairperson of the board of trustees of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center (KHCF) and (KHCC), based 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 ...

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 ...

. Born into a politically prominent family in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, Princess Ghida is married to

Prince Talal bin Muhammad Prince Talal bin Muhammad (born 26 July 1965) is a member of the Jordanian royal family. He is the eldest son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal, the younger brother of King Hussein of Jordan, and first cousin of the current King Abdullah; this make ...

of Jordan, the nephew of King

Hussein bin Talal 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-generatio ...

and 41st-generation direct 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 ...

Biography

Princess Ghida Talal was born 11 July 1963 in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon, to Hany Salam and Raja'a Arab. She is the eldest of four children. The Salam family is a politically prominent family in Lebanon. Her great-grandfather,

Salim Ali Salam Salim Ali Al-Salam (, also known as Abu Ali Salam; 1868–1938) was a prominent figure in Beirut at the turn of the 20th century who held numerous public positions, including deputy from Beirut to the Ottoman Parliament, President of the Munici ...

, was a leading political figure in Beirut at the turn of the 20th century and held numerous public positions, including deputy from Beirut to the Ottoman Parliament. Her great-uncle

Saeb Salam Saeb Salam (17 January 1905 – 21 January 2000) () was a Lebanese politician, who served as Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese daily ''As-Safir'' described Salam as "most successful in dealing ...

served as

Prime Minister of Lebanon The prime minister of Lebanon, officially the president of the Council of Ministers, is the head of government and the head of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon. The prime minister is appointed by the president of Lebanon, with the consen ...

several times. Ghida has five siblings, Nashad Talal-Mohamed, Omar Talal-Mohamed, Hamza Talal, Hema Talal-Afzal, and Azad Talal-Mohamed. Princess Ghida attended school in Beirut at the College Protestant Francais and graduated with the French and Lebanese baccalaureates. After finishing high school in Beirut, she began her college education in the United States. She graduated with a joint bachelor's and master's degree and magna cum laude honors in international politics and economics from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service 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 ...

After university, she began a career in journalism, starting with a job as a researcher for the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

(ABC) News in London. She then moved to Argentina as a correspondent for the London-based

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

newspaper. She then moved back to Beirut, where she covered Lebanese politics for

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

. Her last work as a journalist was with the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

of London. Princess Ghida moved to Jordan when she married Prince Talal Bin Muhammad in 1991. The late

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 ...

asked her to establish the International Press Office of the Royal Hashemite Court, and she became the King's Press Secretary. In that capacity, she oversaw all press activities for the King and led a team of writers and press officers who covered the King's official activities. Princess Ghida also directed research projects and produced many political and economic publications about Jordan. She served as press secretary until King Hussein's death in 1999. In 2001,

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 ...

appointed Princess Ghida as full-time chairperson of the board of trustees of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation. The King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) treats over 4000 new cancer patients each year from Jordan and the region. It is equipped with 8 operating rooms and 170 beds. It houses 18 intensive care units, including 6 ICUs specialized for pediatric care. Under Princess Ghida's leadership, KHCF entered into agreements and partnerships with the

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center and autonomous university of the University of Texas System in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the w ...

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

(NCI) of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH),

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...

, Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Center and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Princess Ghida remained active in other pursuits. In 2007, she played a vital role in the Iraq Scholar Rescue Project, an Institute of International Education (IIE), which aimed to rescue scholars from Iraq who were being persecuted. Princess Ghida helped find them safe havens at host universities across Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East, in particular Jordan, until they were able to safely return to their home country. She was awarded the IIE's Humanitarian Award for International Cooperation in 2008. King Abdullah II appointed Princess Ghida to represent Jordan as his special envoy at the United Nations General Assembly's High Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), held in September 2011 in New York. On the occasion of Jordan's Independence Day, 25 May 2012, the King Hussein Cancer Center and Foundation received the Kingdom's Medal of Independence in recognition of its work in the fight against cancer and for providing life-saving treatment to cancer patients in Jordan and the region. Princess Ghida has a public page on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

dedicated to raising awareness about the fight against cancer, and an account on Twitter.

Personal life

Ghida married

in 1991. The couple live in Jordan with their three children: Prince Hussein (born 1999) and twins Princess Raja'a and Prince Muhammad (born 2001).

Education

* 1986 –

(

) BSFS/MSFS five-year joint degree program Master of Science in foreign service, magna cum laude (high honors) Bachelor of Science in foreign service, magna cum laude (high honors) area of concentration: international politics and economics, national security studies * 1981 – College Protestant Francais (Beirut, Lebanon)

Career

In addition to posts discussed above: *Summer 1988 Reuters Ltd, Beirut, Lebanon correspondent Reported on the fall of Burj al Barajneh refugee camp, car bombings, inter-Shiite fighting and the hostage crisis. Covered the 1989 Lebanese presidential elections. Wrote political articles, feature stories, news analyses and political profiles. *1987 – 1988 ABC News, London, UK researcher Provided backup for correspondents and producers. Conducted interviews, covered press conferences, voiced over commentaries for news broadcasts and documentaries. Assisted in editing news stories.

Board memberships

*From Feb 2013: Appointed to board of the

Institute of International Education The Institute of International Education (IIE) is an American 501(c) non-profit organization that focuses on international student exchange and aid, foreign affairs, and international peace and security. IIE creates programs of study and training ...

*From Oct. 2011: Georgetown University – Washington D.C. board of directors Master of Science in foreign service *Oct. 2003 – Oct. 2009: Georgetown University – Washington D.C. board of regents *From 2007: Scholar Rescue Fund, Institute of International Education – New York *From Oct. 2005: National Gallery of Fine Arts – Amman, Jordan *From Oct. 1997: National Swimming Federation – Jordan (honorary chairperson)

Honours

National

*Jan. 2022 - Grand Cordon of the Order of the State Centennial *May 2012 – Independence Medal of the First Order, presented by HM King Abdullah II in recognition of the great work accomplished by the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center *Sep. 2008 – Humanitarian Award presented by the Institute of International Education (IIE), New York *Oct. 2007 – CCBF Breakthrough Spirit Award – presented by the Children's Cancer and Blood Foundation, N.Y. *Sep. 2006 – Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Star of Jordan The Order of the Star of Jordan (Wisam al-Kawkab al-Urduni) or The Order of Hussein ibn Ali (Wisam al-Hussein ibn Ali) is an award and order of Jordan and is awarded for military or civil merit. It was founded in honour of his father, by King ...

*Oct. 1995 – Dame 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 ...

Foreign

* : Officer of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

* : Dame 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

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

Academic awards

*1981 – 1986 – Georgetown University, Washington D.C. Distinction in Oral Comprehensive Examinations. Special Certificate for completion of combined BSFS/MSFS degree program, magna cum laude, Award for Academic Excellence. Five Years on Dean's Honors List. *1967 – 1981 – College Protestant Francais, Beirut, Lebanon Prix d’Excellence

References

External links

*
Jordan University press release about medal of independence ceremony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghida, Princess 1963 births Living people People from Beirut Dames Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Grand Cordons of the Order of Independence (Jordan) Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Salam family Jordanian princesses by marriage