Queen Noor Of Jordan

Her Majesty Queen Noor was born Lisa Najeeb Halaby on 23 August 1951, to an Arab-American family distinguished for its public service. She attended schools in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Concord Academy in Massachusetts, before entering Princeton University in its first co-educational freshman class.

After receiving a B.A. in Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University in 1974, Queen Noor worked on international urban planning and design projects in Australia, Iran, the United States, and Jordan from where she traveled throughout the Arab World to research aviation training facilities. Subsequently, she joined Royal Jordanian Airlines as Director of Planning and Design Projects.

Their Majesties, King Hussein and Queen Noor, were married on 15 June 1978. They have two sons: HRH Prince Hamzah (born 29 March 1980), and HRH Prince Hashim (born 10 June 1981), and two daughters: HRH Princess Iman (born 24 April 1983), and HRH Princess Raiyah (born 9 February 1986).

Since 1978, Queen Noor has initiated, directed, and sponsored projects and activities in Jordan to address specific national development needs in the areas of education, culture, women and childrens' welfare, human rights, conflict resolution, community development, environmental and architectural conservation, public architecture, and urban planning. She is also actively involved with international and UN organizations that address global challenges in these fields. Queen Noor has played a major role in promoting international exchange and understanding of Middle Eastern politics, Arab-Western relations, and humanitarian and conflict prevention, and recovery issues throughout the world, such as youth drug abuse, refugees, and disarmament.