View source for Princess Basma bint Talal

{{Short description|Jordanian royal}}
{{BLP sources|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
|full name    = Basma bint Talal bin Abdullah bin Hussein
|father       = [[Talal of Jordan]]
|mother       = [[Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil|Zein al-Sharaf]]
|birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1951|5|11|df=y}}
|birth_place  = [[Amman]], Jordan
|spouse       = [[Timoor Daghistani]]<br>(m. 1970; div. 197?)<br>{{marriage|Walid al-Kurdi<br>|1980}}
|issue        = {{plainlist|
*Farah Daghistani
*Ghazi Daghistani
*Saad al-Kurdi
*Zein Al-Sharaf al-Kurdi
}}
|house        = [[Hashemite]]
|religion     = [[Islam]]
}}

'''Princess Basma bint Talal''' (born 11 May 1951) is the only surviving daughter of [[King Talal]] and [[Queen Zein]] of [[Jordan]], sister of [[Hussein of Jordan]] and paternal aunt to the current king, [[King Abdullah II]].

==Background==
[[File:Koning Hussein met jongere familieleden, prins Hassan, prins Mohammad en prinses, Bestanddeelnr 255-5064.jpg|thumb|left|Princess Basma, as an infant, among her siblings, c. 1952-53: (L to R) [[Prince Hassan bin Talal|Prince Hassan]], [[Hussein of Jordan]], Princess Basma, and [[Prince Muhammad bin Talal|Prince Muhammad]].]]
Basma's father became King of Jordan two months after she was born as a result of the assassination of her grandfather [[Abdullah I of Jordan|King Abdullah I]] in [[Jerusalem]]. King Talal was forced to abdicate as King for health reasons in 1952, when Basma was one year old. He lived on until 1972. Her mother was [[Queen Zein]] (1916–1994). After her father's abdication, her older brother Hussein (1935–1999) ascended the throne, and her mother was queen regent until Hussein came of age in 1953.

==Education==
{{Jordanian Royal Family}}
Basma was educated at Ahliyyah School for Girls in [[Amman]], then in [[England]] at [[Benenden School]] (where she was a friend of [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]]) and [[University of Oxford]], where she read Modern Languages.

In 2001, she was awarded a [[DPhil]] degree by Oxford University for a thesis entitled ''Contextualising development in Jordan: the arena of donors, state and NGOs''.

==Marriage and career==
Basma first married [[Colonel]] [[Timoor Daghistani]] in [[Amman]] on 2 April 1970. They had two children: Farah Daghistani and Ghazi Daghistani. In the late 1970s they were divorced. Basma went on to marry Walid al-Kurdi in Amman on 14 April 1980, and they also had two children: Saad al-Kurdi and Zein Al-Sharaf al-Kurdi.

Since the late 1970s, Basma has worked to promote human development, gender equity and children's charities. Through forums that include the [[United Nations]] she contributes to the global debates on health, education, population and the environment.

==Appointments==
*Founder of the Queen Alia Jordan Social Welfare Fund (QAF)
*President of the Arab Association for Women and Development (AWAD)
*President of the [[Jordanian National Commission for Women]] (JNCW)
*President of the [[Jordanian Association for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides]]
*President of [[Mabarrat Um al Hussein]]
*President of [[Goodwill Campaign (Jordan)|Goodwill Campaign]]
*Chairperson of the [[The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development|Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development]]
*President of [[Save The Children-Jordan]] (SCJ)
*President of the [[Jordanian National Forum for Women]] (JNFW)
*Honorary President of the [[General Federation of Jordanian Women]] (GFJW)
*President of the National Committee for Women's Affairs<ref>[http://www.jordanembassyus.org/royal-family/her-royal-highness-princess-basma-bint-talal Jordan Embassy]</ref>
*Member of Board of Trustees for the [[Higher Population Council-General Secretariat|Higher Population Council]]
*Member of the [[World Health Organization]]'s Adolescent Health Programme Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, 1991–1993
*Honorary Human Development Ambassador of the [[United Nations Development Programme]] since 1993
*Member of the [[World Health Organization]] Global Commission on Women's Health, 1994
*Goodwill Ambassador of the [[United Nations Development Fund for Women]] since 1995
*Member of the United Nations High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development to the Secretary-General [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]], 1995–1998
*Member of the [[Earth Council]] since 1996
*Member of [[UNESCO]] Culture and Development Steering Committee, 1996–1997
*Member of UNESCO International Panel on Democracy and Development, 1998
*Member of UNESCO Scientific Committee for the World Culture Report, 1998–2000
*Goodwill Ambassador of the [[United Nations Population Fund]]'s (UNFPA) since 2001<ref name=UNFPA>{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/princess-basma-bint-Talal|title=United Nations Population Fund|publisher=UNFPA}}</ref>
*Member of the International Advisory Board of the [[International Council on Social Welfare]] since 2001
*Member of the [[Earth Charter]] International Commission.

==Title, styles and honours==
===Title===
* 11 May 1952 – present: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan

===Honours===
====National honours====
* {{Flag|Jordan}}: Knight Grand Cordon of the [[Supreme Order of the Renaissance|Supreme Order of the Renaissance, Special Class]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours">{{cite web|url=http://www.princessbasma.jo/index.php?page_type=pages&page_id=454 |title=HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal : Official Website |website=Princessbasma.jo |access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref>

====Foreign honours====
* {{Flag|Austria}}: Grand Cross of the [[Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria|Order for Services to the Republic of Austria]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />
* {{flag|Brunei}}: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the [[Family Order of Laila Utama|Order of the Most Esteemed Family Order of Brunei, Special Class]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />
* {{flagicon|Iran|1964}} [[Pahlavi Dynasty|Iranian Imperial Family]]: Recipient of the [[2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire|Commemorative Medal of the 2,500-year Celebration of the Persian Empire]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://badraie.com/guests.htm |title=Badraie.com |website=Badraie.com |access-date=2017-05-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305043732/http://badraie.com/guests.htm |archive-date=5 March 2016 }}</ref>
* {{Flag|Japan}}: Paulownia Dame Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Precious Crown]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />
* {{Flag|Spain}}: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Isabella the Catholic]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1977/05/09/pdfs/A10105-10105.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-06-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615022331/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1977/05/09/pdfs/A10105-10105.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref>
* {{Flag|Sweden}}: Member Grand Cross of the [[Royal Order of the Polar Star]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />

===Awards===
====National award====
* {{flag|Jordan}}: ''Honorary Person'' for the [[International Year of Volunteers Plus 10|International Year of Volunteers plus 10 - 2001]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />

====Foreign awards====
* {{flag|Indonesia}}: [[Honorary Degree]] of [[Doctor of Laws]] of the As-Syafiiyah Islamic University<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.princessbasma.jo/index.php?page_type=news&press_id=1001&cat=News&view=archive&year=2011 |title=HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal : Official Website |website=Princessbasma.jo |date=2011-05-17 |access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref>
* {{flag|Japan}}: ''Dr. Jushichiro Naito International Childcare Award''<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />
* {{flag|United Kingdom}}
** {{flag|England}}
*** {{flagicon|Berkshire}} [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]]: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws of the [[University of Reading]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR2924.aspx |title=Honorary Degrees at the University of Reading |website=Reading.ac.uk |date=1998-06-30 |access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR353.aspx |title=Jordanian Princess concludes the Millennium Lecture Series |website=Reading.ac.uk |date=2000-05-03 |access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref>
*** {{flagicon|Oxfordshire}} [[Oxford]]: [[Honorary title (academic)|Honorary Fellow]] of [[Pembroke College, Oxford|Pembroke College]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/1995/230395/coll.txt |format=TXT |title=Obituaries : Somerville College |website=Ox.ac.uk |access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref>
** {{flag|Scotland}}
*** {{flag|Edinburgh}}: Honorary Fellow of the [[Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />
* {{flag|United Nations}}: ''Woman of the Year 1995'' of the Arab Regional Preparatory Meeting for the [[Fourth World Conference on Women]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />
** {{flag|UNESCO}}: Recipient of the UNESCO Golden Anniversary Commemorative Medal<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />
* {{flag|United States}}
** {{flag|Massachusetts}}
*** {{noflag}} [[Northampton, Massachusetts|Northampton]]: Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws of the [[Smith College]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smith.edu/honorary-degrees |title=Honorary Degrees &#124; Smith College |website=Smith.edu |access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.princessbasma.jo/index.php?page_type=news&press_id=945&cat=News&view=archive&year=2010 |title=HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal : Official Website |website=Princessbasma.jo |date=2010-05-16 |access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.princessbasma.jo/index.php?page_type=gallery&cat=123#2 |title=HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal : Official Website |website=Princessbasma.jo |date=2010-05-16 |access-date=2017-05-25}}</ref>
* {{noflag}} [[World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts]]: [[World Citizenship Award]]<ref name="AwardsAndHonours" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.princessbasma.jo/}}

{{Jordanian princesses}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basma Talal}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:House of Hashim]]
[[Category:Jordanian princesses]]
[[Category:Princesses Royal]]
[[Category:People educated at Benenden School]]
[[Category:Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria]]
[[Category:Order of the Precious Crown members]]
[[Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic]]
[[Category:Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star]]
[[Category:Recipients of Supreme Order of the Renaissance (Jordan)]]
[[Category:People from Amman]]
[[Category:Daughters of kings]]