rp-queen rania al-abdullah -

REMARKABLE

PEOPLE

Queen Rania Al-Abdullah by Leia Tait

REMARKABLE

PEOPLE

Queen Rania Al-Abdullah by Leia Tait

RP-Queen Rania Al-Abdullah 10/1/07 12:32 PM

Published by Weigl Publishers Inc.350 5th Avenue, Suite 3304, PMB 6GNew York, NY 10118-0069

Website: www.weigl.comCopyright ©2008 WEIGL PUBLISHERS INC.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior writtenpermission of the publisher.

All of the Internet URLs given in the book were valid at the time of publication.However, due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, some addresses may have changed, or sites may have ceased to exist since publication. While the author andpublisher regret any inconvenience this may cause readers, no responsibility for any such changes can be accepted by either the author or the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tait, Leia.Queen Rania Al-Abdullah / Leia Tait.

p. cm. -- (Remarkable people)Includes index.ISBN 978-1-59036-645-5 (hard cover : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-59036-646-2 (soft

cover : alk. paper)1. Rania, Queen, consort of Abdullah II, King of Jordan, 1970---Juvenile literature.

2. Jordan--Kings and rulers--Biography--Juvenile literature. I. Title. DS154.52.R36T35 2007956.9504'4092--dc22[B]

2006036970

Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 11 10 09 08 07

Editor: Leia TaitDesign: Terry Paulhus

Cover: Queen Rania is helping women and children around the world achieve theirgoals and improve their lives.

Photograph CreditsUsed with permission from Nabil Barto, Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom ofJordan: page 7 top left.

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace ownership and to obtain permission to reprint copyright material. The publishers would be pleased to have any errors or omissions brought to their attention so that they may be corrected in subsequent printings.


ContentsWho Is Queen Rania Al-Abdullah? . . . 4

Growing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Practice Makes Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Key Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

What Is a Humanitarian? . . . . . . . . . . 12

Influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Overcoming Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Achievements and Successes . . . . . . . 18

Write a Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Further Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Words to Know/Index . . . . . . . . . . . . 24


4 Queen Rania Al-Abdullah

Who Is Queen Rania Al-Abdullah?Queen Rania Al-Abdullahis the queen of Jordan.Jordan is a small country in the Middle East. As wellas being a queen, Rania is a humanitarian. She worksto improve the lives ofpeople in Jordan. She also does importantwork for women and children around theworld. Rania wants to make sure that allpeople can go to school. She wantseveryone to be able to receive medical careand financial help when needed. Raniatravels the world to promote these issues.She is truly a role model for others.

“I believe that we now have achallenge, and an opportunity,to help millions around theworld make their hopes real.”


Growing Up

6

Growing Up

R ania was born in Kuwait on August 31, 1970. Kuwait is a richcountry on the shore of the Persian Gulf. Rania’s parents were

from a part of Jordan that is now the West Bank. They had moved toKuwait in 1967. Her father was a doctor. Her mother stayed home to carefor the family. Rania grew up with her older sister, Dina, and her youngerbrother, Majdi. As a young girl, she went to New English School inKuwait City. There, Rania learned to speak both Arabic and English.

In 1987, Rania went to Cairo, Egypt, to study business. She attended aschool called the American University in Cairo. While she was there, anarmy from Iraq took over Kuwait. The ruler of Iraq was Saddam Hussein.He wanted to control Kuwait’s oil supplies. Leaders from other countries,including the United States, sent their armies to help Kuwait. Thisconflict became the First Persian Gulf War. During the war, Rania’sparents fled Kuwait and went to Jordan. Rania stayed in Egypt to finishher schooling. In 1991, she joined her parents in the city of Amman.

Queen Rania Al-Abdullah

Parts of Kuwait City were destroyed during the First Persian Gulf War. Since then,it has been rebuilt and is an important business center.

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Some of the earliest settlementsin history were on lands that arenow part of Jordan.

Most Jordanians areMuslim. They follow thereligion of Islam.

CYPRUS

EGYPT

JORDANISRAEL

LEBANON

KUWAIT

SYRIAIRAQ

SAUDI ARABIA

WEST BANK

Nile

Euphrates

Mediterranean Sea

Red Sea

FLAG FLOWERBlack Iris

COAT OF

ARMS

About 6 million people live in Jordan.Seventy percent of the population is younger than 30 years of age. What might be difficult about rulingsuch a young country? What might be some of the benefits?

Remarkable People 7

Get to Know JordanGet to Know Jordan

Amman is the capital of Jordan.About 2 million people live there.

The Arabian oryx is a type of rareantelope that lives in the deserts of Jordan.

The Jordan River separates the country fromIsrael and the West Bank. It drains into theDead Sea, the lowest point on Earth.

500 Miles0

0 500 Kilometers

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