Economy and Politics in Jordan Today

1. The Royal Couple

All politics and economics in Jordan today are dominated by the popular and charismatic personalities—and dynamic “hands-on” personal leadership—of Jordan’s ruling couple, King Abdullah II and his wife, Queen Rania. No aspect of the Jordanian economy can be appreciated without understanding their personal roles.

Queen Rania’s Role: “Just a mum with a cool day job”

Generally considered one of the most beautiful of world leaders, Queen Rania, for her part, has been no palace wallflower.

She has personally spearheaded major educational initiatives for youth, education, and cultural dialogue within Jordan, and has become internationally recognized for her leadership in humanitarian projects.

Forbes Magazine included her in its 2010 list of “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.” (June 2010; see http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/30/power-influence-michelle-obama-lady-gaga-power-women-10-hillary-clinton.html.)

She is rated “Third Most Influential Leader in Social Media,” just two places behind Barack Obama, by the Digital Policy Council, for her presence on Twitter, where more than 1.3 million fans follow her “tweets.”

She has also especially endeared herself to the modern tech-savvy world by her path-breaking (for royalty) employment of online social-networking tools such as Facebook and YouTube. She has more than 300,000 fans signed into her Facebook page. 

On her own YouTube Channel, some of her videos have been viewed by more than a million people.

According to Nasser Judeh, Minister of Foreign Affairs,

“Their Majesties have set an example of how to be close to people, whether in real life or cyberspace, and we are trying to follow that example. Today we see the Prime Minister and several ministries and officials who are not only on twitter but everywhere. This is the beauty of our beloved Jordan.”