Basma bint Talal

Jordanian Royal Family
	HM The King; HM The Queen HRH The Crown Prince; HRH Princess Iman; HRH Princess Salma; HRH Prince Hashem; HM Queen Noor Extended royal family
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Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan, (born Amman, Jordan, on 11 May 1951) is the only daughter of King Talal and Queen Zein al-Sharaf Talal, sister of King Hussein of Jordan and paternal aunt to the current King, King Abdullah II. Princess Basma is often considered the equivalent Princess Royal of Jordan.

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 in Jerusalem. 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, then in England at Benenden School (where she was a friend of Princess Anne) and University of Oxford, where she read Modern Languages.

In 2001, she was awarded a DPhil 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 Timoor Daghistani in Amman, on 2 April 1970. They had two children together:

Farah Al Daghistani (born 25 March 1971), married 23 September 2004 Saud Abdul Aziz Suleiman.
Ghazi Al Daghistani (born 21 July 1974), married on 7 September 2006 Samanta Mahdi Saifi.

In the late 1970s, they divorced and Basma went on to marry Walid al-Kurdi in Amman, on 14 April 1980. They also had two children together:

Saad Al Walid (born 8 November 1982).
Zein Al Sharaf Al Walid (born 1 June 1986).

On 2 January 2013, an arrest warrant was issued by Jordan police for Walid Al Kurdi due to his alleged involvement in the multi-million dollar case.^[1] ANSA reported that Kurdi fled the country for the United Kingdom.^[1]

Since the late 1970s, Basma has worked to promote human development, gender equity and children's charities. Through forums that include the United Nations she contributes to the global debates on health, education, population and the environment.

Appointments

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
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 (GFJW)
Member of Board of Trustees for the Higher Population Council
Member of the World Health Organization's Adolescent Health Programme Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, 1991–1993
Honorary Human Development Ambassador of the United Nations Development Programme since 1993
Member of the World Health Organization Global Commission on Women's Health, 1994
Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Fund for Women since 1995
Member of the United Nations High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development to the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 1995–1998
Member of the Earth Council since 1996
Member of UNESCO 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 since 2001
Member of the International Advisory Board of the International Council on Social Welfare since 2001
Member of the Earth Charter International Commission.