Abdullah II (1962–)

King Abdullah II ascended to the throne as monarch of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in February 1999 following the death of his father, King Hussein. Educated at British Sandhurst Military Academy, King Abdullah II has served in the Army as commander of the Jordanian Special Forces (1994). His global views, coupled with his perfect mastery of both English and Arabic, have resulted in positive political communication performances and open orientations to the media. Although Jordanian media were already experiencing some liberalization in their public discourse and structures in the aftermath of King Hussein's death, the realities of both geography and politics seemed to have mitigated against sustainable free practices. Surrounded by politically unstable settings in Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon, Jordan, under King Abdullah II, ...