Prince Ali turns 40

AMMAN — Wednesday marks the 40th birthday of HRH Prince Ali, who was born on December 23, 1975 to Their Majesties the late King Hussein and the late Queen Alia.

Prince Ali began his primary education at the Islamic Educational College in Amman and continued his studies in the UK and the US, before graduating from Salisbury School in Connecticut in 1993, where he excelled in sports, particularly wrestling.

He then joined the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, where he was awarded the Brunei Medal for Excellence, and was commissioned as an officer in 1994.

Before continuing his studies in the US, Prince Ali served in the Special Forces as a pathfinder, earning his military freefall parachute wings.

In 1999, Prince Ali was asked to serve as commander of His Majesty’s Special Security in the Royal Guards and served in that capacity until January 28, 2008, when His Majesty King Abdullah entrusted him with establishing and directing the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management.

Prince Ali, who currently serves as an officer in the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army with the rank of major general, is president of the Jordan Football Association and the West Asian Football Federation, as well as chairman of the Royal Film Commission.

On January 6, 2011, the prince was elected FIFA vice president for Asia.

He currently chairs the social responsibility committees at FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.

In 2012, Prince Ali founded the Asian Football Development Project, a nonprofit youth commission based in Amman, whose objective is to provide effective, need-based assistance to all Asian, national and regional football associations and affiliates in a fair and transparent manner.

The prince also has been chairing the Royal Film Commission since its establishment in 2003. The commission works to develop the local film industry to enable Jordanian filmmakers to compete internationally.

On September 7, 2004, the prince married HRH Princess Rym, daughter of veteran UN and Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi. They have a daughter, Princess Jalila, born on September 16, 2005, and a son, Prince Abdullah, born on March 19, 2007.