Noor Al Hussein
Her Majesty Queen Noor al-Hussein was born Lisa Najeeb
Halaby into a prominent Arab-American family in Washington,
D.C. Her father served as head of the Federal Aviation Administration
under President Kennedy. A graduate of Princeton University's
School of Architecture, she met Jordan's King Hussein while
working on a redesign of facilities for Jordan's national
airline.
In 1978, they married and she became the first American-born
queen of an Arab country. She has since sensitively balanced
Arab and Western cultures in her work for development, education,
women's rights, and the land mine ban with her Noor Al Hussein
Foundation (NHF). King Hussein died of cancer in 1999.
Noor Al Hussein Foundation, www.nhf.org.jo
Resources for Teachers and Students
Reflections on Working Towards
Peace