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Alia Toukan

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox royalty Alia Bahauddin Toukan (Template:Langx; 25 December 1948 – 9 February 1977), also known as Alia Al Hussein (Template:Langx),<ref name="JT-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was Queen of Jordan as the third wife of King Hussein from their marriage on 24 December 1972 until her death in a helicopter crash in 1977.

BackgroundEdit

File:Habis Majali walking alongside Queen Alia.jpg
Queen Alia walking alongside Jordanian Army Chief of Staff Habis Majali.

Alia Toukan was born on 25 December 1948 in Cairo, Egypt,<ref name="JT-bio"/><ref name="UPI-bio">Template:Cite news</ref> the daughter of Baha Toukan and his wife Hanan Hashim. Her mother, a home-maker, was a grandniece of Ibrahim Hashim Pasha, and her father was a diplomat.<ref name="UPI-bio"/> At the time of Alia's birth, he was the ambassador of Jordan to the Court of St James's (United Kingdom), Italy, Turkey and Egypt all at once.<ref name=abit>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Toukan, a close confidant of King Abdullah I of Jordan, had previously helped write the Jordanian Constitution in 1952, and had served as Jordan's first Ambassador to the United Nations.<ref name="UPI-bio"/>

Alia spent most of her childhood years traveling with her parents during her father's career in Jordan's diplomatic corps: she lived in Egypt, Turkey, London, the United States, and Rome.<ref name="UPI-bio"/> She attended Church School in London with her younger brothers, Alaa and Abdullah. She was educated at the Rome Center of Liberal Arts of Loyola University Chicago.<ref name="JNA-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She studied political science with a minor in social psychology, and public relations at Hunter College in New York City.<ref name="UPI-bio"/> She was interested in sports and writing, and she wished to be a diplomat.<ref name="UPI-bio"/> In 1971, she moved to Jordan, where she worked for Royal Jordanian Airlines.<ref name="UPI-bio"/> She was asked by King Hussein, grandson of Abdullah I, to oversee the preparations for the first International Water Skiing Festival held in the coastal city of Aqaba in September 1972.Template:Fact

FamilyEdit

Alia married the King in a private ceremony at her father's house, with no attendance of any other royal family members, on 24 December 1972, 3 days after the king divorced his second wife Princess Muna Al-Hussein, and was titled Queen Alia Al Hussein (Template:Langx).

They had two children:<ref name="JT-bio"/><ref name="UPI-bio"/>

They also adopted Abir,<ref name="JT-bio"/><ref name="UPI-bio"/> a young Palestinian girl whose mother had been killed by a plane crash at a refugee camp near the Amman airport.

QueenEdit

File:King Hussein and Queen Alia with the Fords.jpg
Queen Alia (left) with her husband following state dinner with Betty and Gerald Ford on 30 March 1976.

Queen Alia founded the Office of the Queen of Jordan and gave it an active and public role. The active role she took in Jordan has been emulated by her successors. She financed social development projects, placing particular emphasis on women and children.<ref name="JT-bio"/><ref name="JNA-bio"/> She often made surprise visits to hospitals and national institutions, aiming to raise service standards and help people to help themselves. In her drive to ensure that children from impoverished backgrounds received their right to education, she fostered close ties with schools such as the Schneller School for Orphans, which took many of the street children that Queen Alia sent there.

Her commitment to improving social services continued throughout her lifetime and was still pursued in her name after her death, when King Hussein ensured the continuation of the many educational scholarships given in her honour.

Alia's love of the arts and literature inspired the establishment of libraries throughout the country, including one at the Central Bank of Jordan and another in the King Hussein Medical City. Her interest in the arts led to the founding of the Haya Cultural Centre for Children, the National Folklore Troupe and the Alia Art Gallery. It was also instrumental in conceiving the Jerash Festival for the Arts.

In 1974, Alia called for women to be granted the right to vote and be elected for parliament. On 4 April 1974, a law was promulgated granting women this right; however, the suspension of parliamentary life in Jordan between 1974 and 1989 prevented its implementation.

Death and legacyEdit

Template:Wives of Hussein of Jordan Alia died in a military helicopter crash in Amman, Jordan, on 9 February 1977.<ref name=abit/> She was on her way back from an inspection trip to Tafileh Hospital in southern Jordan.<ref name="JT-bio"/> King Hussein announced her death on radio, stating that the crash had happened in a violent rainstorm.<ref name="UPI-bio"/> The Minister of Health Mohammed al-Beshir and Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Mohannad Alkhas Hatough were also killed in the crash.<ref name="UPI-bio"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her funeral ceremony took place on the following day, in which members of the Jordanian Armed Forces took part.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Among the foreign dignitaries at the funeral was the Syrian president Hafez al-Assad.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Amman's principal airport, Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), was built in 1983 and named in her honour. It is located 32 km (20 miles) south of the city and replaced Amman Marka International Airport (now Amman Civil Airport) as the city's main gateway.

Honours and decorationsEdit

National
Foreign

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Institutions named after or associated with Queen AliaEdit

ReferencesEdit

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