Line of succession to the Jordanian throne
Encyclopedia
Line of succession to the Jordanian throne is the line of people who are eligible to succeed to the throne of the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan. The succession is regulated by Article 28 of the Constitution of Jordan
.
The throne passes according to agnatic primogeniture. The only people eligible to succeed are mentally sound Muslim
men who are legitimate
and agnatic descendants of Abdullah I of Jordan
. One must be born to Muslim parents in order to have succession rights. The King's sons are preferred over his brothers, and an older son is preferred over a younger son, with children representing their dead ancestors. If the King dies leaving no sons, grandsons or brothers, the throne passes to the eldest son of the King's eldest brother. In the absence of any already mentioned agnates, the throne passes to the King's eldest uncle and his agnatic descendants. Daughters and their descendants have no succession rights.
However, the King has the right to appoint one of his brothers as heir apparent
.
If the King dies without legitimate heir, the throne devolves upon the person whom the National Assembly selects from amongst the descendants of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca
, the founder of the Arab Revolt
.
A person can be barred from succession by Royal Decree on the ground of unsuitability. His descendants would not be automatically excluded.
The current monarch is Abdullah II
, who on July 2, 2009 formally appointed his eldest son Hussein as his heir. Under the Constitution, Hussein had been heir apparent since 2004.
King Hussein's brother, Prince Muhammad, was the heir presumptive
to the throne until the birth of Hussein's eldest son, Abdullah. Abdullah was his father's heir apparent
from his birth in 1962 until 1965, when King Hussein decided to appoint his 18-year-old brother Hassan as heir because of the unstable times in the 1960s.
Shortly after his marriage to Queen Noor, King Hussein instructed his brother to appoint Prince Ali (Hussein's eldest son from his marriage to Queen Alia) as his heir. However, by 1992, Hussein changed his mind. Besides his own sons, the King seriously regarded his nephew, Prince Talal bin Muhammad
, as his possible heir. Finally, on 25 January 1999, shortly before his death, Hussein proclaimed Abdullah his heir again and was succeeded by him on his death.
Hashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
Kingdom of Jordan. The succession is regulated by Article 28 of the Constitution of Jordan
Constitution of Jordan
The Constitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was adopted on January 11, 1952 and has been amended many times. It defines the hereditary monarchic rule with a parliamentary system of representation...
.
The throne passes according to agnatic primogeniture. The only people eligible to succeed are mentally sound Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
men who are legitimate
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
and agnatic descendants of Abdullah I of Jordan
Abdullah I of Jordan
Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn] عبد الله الأول بن الحسين born in Mecca, Second Saudi State, was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah...
. One must be born to Muslim parents in order to have succession rights. The King's sons are preferred over his brothers, and an older son is preferred over a younger son, with children representing their dead ancestors. If the King dies leaving no sons, grandsons or brothers, the throne passes to the eldest son of the King's eldest brother. In the absence of any already mentioned agnates, the throne passes to the King's eldest uncle and his agnatic descendants. Daughters and their descendants have no succession rights.
However, the King has the right to appoint one of his brothers as heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
.
If the King dies without legitimate heir, the throne devolves upon the person whom the National Assembly selects from amongst the descendants of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca
Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca
Sayyid Hussein bin Ali, GCB was the Sharif of Mecca, and Emir of Mecca from 1908 until 1917, when he proclaimed himself King of Hejaz, which received international recognition. He initiated the Arab Revolt in 1916 against the increasingly nationalistic Ottoman Empire during the course of the...
, the founder of the Arab Revolt
Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt was initiated by the Sherif Hussein bin Ali with the aim of securing independence from the ruling Ottoman Turks and creating a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.- Background :...
.
A person can be barred from succession by Royal Decree on the ground of unsuitability. His descendants would not be automatically excluded.
The current monarch is Abdullah II
Abdullah II of Jordan
Abdullah II ibn al-Hussein is the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He ascended the throne on 7 February 1999 after the death of his father King Hussein. King Abdullah, whose mother is Princess Muna al-Hussein, is a member of the Hashemite family...
, who on July 2, 2009 formally appointed his eldest son Hussein as his heir. Under the Constitution, Hussein had been heir apparent since 2004.
Line of succession
- Current monarch: Abdullah IIAbdullah II of JordanAbdullah II ibn al-Hussein is the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He ascended the throne on 7 February 1999 after the death of his father King Hussein. King Abdullah, whose mother is Princess Muna al-Hussein, is a member of the Hashemite family...
- HRH The Crown Prince, born 28 June 1994 (age 17), the King's son
- HRH Prince Hashem bin Al Abdullah, born 30 January 2005 (age 7), the King's son
- HRH Prince Faisal bin Al HusseinPrince Faisal bin Al HusseinPrince Faisal of Jordan is the son of King Hussein and Princess Muna Al Hussein, and the younger brother of King Abdullah II.-Education:...
, born 11 October 1963 (age 48), the King's brother - HRH Prince Omar bin Al Faisal, born 22 October 1993 (age 18), the King's nephew
- HRH Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, born 23 December 1975 (age 36), the King's half brother
- HRH Prince Abdullah bin Ali, born 19 March 2007 (age 4), the King's half nephew
- HRH Prince Hamzah bin Al HusseinPrince Hamzah bin Al HusseinPrince Hamzah bin Al Hussein of Jordan is the son of the late King Hussein of Jordan from his American-born fourth wife, Queen Noor al-Hussein. He was named Crown Prince of Jordan in 1999, a position he held until it was rescinded in 2004 by his half-brother, King Abdullah II of Jordan...
, born 29 March 1980 (age 31), the King's half brother - HRH Prince Hashim bin Al HusseinPrince Hashim bin Al HusseinPrince Hashim bin Al Hussein was born on 10 June 1981. He is the younger of the two sons of King Hussein and Queen Noor. In her autobiography, Queen Noor states that Hashim was named after the clan of Hashim, a tribe to which the Prophet Muhammad and King Hussein belong...
, born 10 June 1981 (age 30), the King's half brother - HRH Prince Muhammad bin TalalPrince Muhammad bin TalalPrince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan (born Amman, Jordan on 2 October 1940 is the son of the late King Talal I of Jordan and is the younger brother of the late King Hussein I of Jordan.-Education:...
, born 2 October 1940 (age 71), the King's uncle - HRH Prince Talal bin MuhammadPrince Talal bin MuhammadHRH Prince Talal bin Muhammad is a Jordanian royal, the eldest son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal, the younger brother of King Hussein of Jordan, and the grandson of King Talal of Jordan. HRH Prince Talal is the 41st generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He has one brother, Prince...
, born 26 July 1965 (age 46), the King's first cousin - HRH Prince Hussein bin Al Talal, born 15 October 1999 (age 12), the King's first cousin once removed
- HRH Prince Muhammad bin Al Talal, born 13 March 2001 (age 10), the King's first cousin once removed
- HRH Prince Ghazi bin MuhammadPrince Ghazi bin MuhammadPrince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan is a Jordanian prince, professor of philosophy, and is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He is the son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan and his first wife, Princess Firyal...
, born 15 October 1966 (age 45), the King's first cousin - HRH Prince Abdullah bin Al Ghazi, born 6 November 2001 (age 10), the King's first cousin once removed
- HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal, born 20 March 1947 (age 64), the King's uncle
- HRH Prince Rashid bin El Hassan, born 20 May 1979 (age 32), the King's first cousin
- HRH Prince Ali bin Nayef, born 10 August 1941 (age 70), the King's first cousin once removed
- HRH Prince Muhammad al-Abbas bin Ali, 20 May 1979 (age 32), the King's second cousin
- HRH Prince Hamzah al-Abbas bin Muhammad, 17 April 2007 (age 4), the King's second cousin once removed
- HRH Prince Ja'afar bin Ali, 17 April 2007 (age 4), the King's second cousin nonce removed
- HRH Prince Asem bin Al NayefPrince Asem bin Al NayefPrince Asem "Abu Bakr" bin Al Nayef was born in Alexandria, Egypt on 27 April 1948. He is the son of Prince Nayef bin Abdullah I and Princess Mihrimah Sultan Osmanoğlu...
, born 17 February 1973 (age 38), the King's first cousin once removed - HRH Prince Nayef bin Asem, born 22 January 1998 (age 14), the King's second cousin
Heirs to Abdullah I
- 1946-1951: Talal bin AbdullahTalal of JordanTalal I bin Abdullah 26 February 1909 – 7 July 1972) was the second King of Jordan from 20 July 1951 until forced to abdicate in favour of his son Hussein due to health reasons on 11 August 1952....
, the eldest son of Abdullah I
Heirs to Hussein
- 1952-1962: Muhammad bin TalalPrince Muhammad bin TalalPrince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan (born Amman, Jordan on 2 October 1940 is the son of the late King Talal I of Jordan and is the younger brother of the late King Hussein I of Jordan.-Education:...
, the eldest brother of Hussein - 1962-1965: Abdullah bin HusseinAbdullah II of JordanAbdullah II ibn al-Hussein is the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He ascended the throne on 7 February 1999 after the death of his father King Hussein. King Abdullah, whose mother is Princess Muna al-Hussein, is a member of the Hashemite family...
, the eldest son of Hussein - 1965-1999: Hassan bin Talal, the second brother of Hussein
- 1999: Abdullah bin HusseinAbdullah II of JordanAbdullah II ibn al-Hussein is the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He ascended the throne on 7 February 1999 after the death of his father King Hussein. King Abdullah, whose mother is Princess Muna al-Hussein, is a member of the Hashemite family...
, the eldest son of Hussein
King Hussein's brother, Prince Muhammad, was the heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the throne until the birth of Hussein's eldest son, Abdullah. Abdullah was his father's heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
from his birth in 1962 until 1965, when King Hussein decided to appoint his 18-year-old brother Hassan as heir because of the unstable times in the 1960s.
Shortly after his marriage to Queen Noor, King Hussein instructed his brother to appoint Prince Ali (Hussein's eldest son from his marriage to Queen Alia) as his heir. However, by 1992, Hussein changed his mind. Besides his own sons, the King seriously regarded his nephew, Prince Talal bin Muhammad
Prince Talal bin Muhammad
HRH Prince Talal bin Muhammad is a Jordanian royal, the eldest son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal, the younger brother of King Hussein of Jordan, and the grandson of King Talal of Jordan. HRH Prince Talal is the 41st generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He has one brother, Prince...
, as his possible heir. Finally, on 25 January 1999, shortly before his death, Hussein proclaimed Abdullah his heir again and was succeeded by him on his death.
Heirs to Abdullah II
- 1999-2004: Hamzah bin Al HusseinPrince Hamzah bin Al HusseinPrince Hamzah bin Al Hussein of Jordan is the son of the late King Hussein of Jordan from his American-born fourth wife, Queen Noor al-Hussein. He was named Crown Prince of Jordan in 1999, a position he held until it was rescinded in 2004 by his half-brother, King Abdullah II of Jordan...
, the third brother of Abdullah II - 2004–present: Hussein bin Al Abdullah, the eldest son of Abdullah II