King Abdullah II has ruled Jordan since the 1999 death of his father, King Hussein I. As king, Abdullah has continued his father’s policy of making Jordan a moderate voice in the Middle East, with ties to Arabs, Palestinians, and the West. Abdullah went to prep schools in England and America, then attended the Sandhurst Military Academy in England and began a career in the Jordanian army. He had become commander of all Jordanian special forces when his father, shortly before his death, named Abdullah to replace the presumptive heir, Hussein’s brother Prince Hassan. Abdullah became king on 7 February 1999. He married Rania Al Yassin, now Queen Rania, in 1993. They have four children: Hussein (b. 1994), Iman (b. 1996), Salma (b. 2000), and Hashem (b. 2005).