Princess Haya bint Al Hussein

Princess Haya bint Al Hussein
Princess Haya of Jordan; Sheikha Haya of Dubai
Spouse	Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Issue
Sheikha Al Jalila Sheikh Zayed
Father	Hussein of Jordan
Mother	Alia al-Hussein
Born	3 May 1974 (1974-05-03) Amman, Jordan

Haya bint Al Hussein, (born 3 May 1974) is one of King Hussein I of Jordan's daughters and a wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. She is known as Her Royal Highness Princess Haya of Jordan (Arabic: ھيا‎), a title derived from her father.

Education

Princess Haya studied in Britain, where she attended Badminton School for Girls in Bristol, Bryanston School in Dorset and later St Hilda's College, Oxford University, from which she graduated with a BA Honours degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE).

Marriage

On 10 April 2004, Princess Haya wedded HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai

On 2 December 2007 in Dubai, Princess Haya gave birth to her first child, HH Sheikha Al Jalila bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The baby's birth coincided with the United Arab Emirates' 36th celebration of its National Day. On 7 January 2012, she gave birth to her second child, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Sports

Princess Haya participated in the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia representing Jordan in show jumping, where she was also her country’s flag bearer. Additionally she is the Individual bronze medallist of show jumping in the 1992 Pan Arab Games in Damascus, Syria.

Princess Haya was elected president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) in 2006 for an initial four-year term in the FEI’s first contested presidential race. She made history a second time in 2010, when dissatisfaction with her record led to her becoming the first sitting FEI president to be challenged in a re-election bid. She succeeded, however, in refuting the criticisms and in winning a second and final four-year term receiving an overwhelming mandate of 75 percent of the vote soundly defeating her most vocal critics.

On 7 June 2008, New Approach, a three-year-old colt owned by Princess Haya, trained in Ireland by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning, won the Derby Stakes. On 25 October 2008, her three-year-old colt, Raven's Pass, won the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic. After being named the European champion 2-year-old in 2007 and winning the 2008 Epsom Derby, New Approach was retired at the end of the 2008 racing season.

In 2009, due to her contribution to the equine world, she was made the first Patron of Retraining of Racehorses.

Princess Haya holds the position of President of the International Jordanian Athletes Cultural Association which was founded to provide athletes with incentives and support they require from sport clubs and national federations.

Charitable activities

Princess Haya has engaged in a range of humanitarian activities and founded Tikyet Um Ali, the first Arab NGO dedicated to overcoming local hunger, in her native Jordan. She now chairs Dubai's International Humanitarian City which is now the world's largest operational center for the delivery of aid in emergencies. She was an ambassador for the World Food Programme 2005-2007, and then appointed a UN Messenger of Peace in July 2007 by Secretary-General Ban-Ky Moon. She was a founding member of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Global Humanitarian Forum based in Geneva, writes editorials and articles on hunger, nutrition and the UN Millennium Development Goals, and serves on the boards of many non-profit organizations.

FEI controversies

Before her re-election in 2010, Princess Haya faced persistent and highly public criticisms from some members of the FEI Bureau for behaving dictatorially and violating the organisation’s democratic principles and procedures to pursue her own agenda. Some members of the FEI Bureau and the international press expressed the opinion that her behaviour reflected her background as a member of an unelected ruling family accustomed to unquestioning obedience, rather than an elected president of a democratic institution. Her re-election campaign was opposed by both of her personally chosen vice presidents and a majority of the FEI Bureau members who had worked with her.

In 2009, in the middle of the FEI’s campaign to eliminate doping and horse abuse in equestrian sport, Princess Haya’s husband and stepson were both convicted by the FEI for serious doping violations. Princess Haya ceded presidential powers to a senior colleague for the FEI disciplinary processes on the matter. She later complained that the issue would be used to "injure and damage the reputations of myself and my family."

Positions, Roles and Honorary titles

• Chain of Hope, Honorary President
• Dubai Healthcare City Authority, Chairperson
• Global Humanitarian Forum, Founding Member
• Haya Cultural Centre, Chairperson
• INDEMAJ, Chairperson
• International Federation for Equestrian Sports, President
• International Humanitarian City, Chairperson
• International Jordanian Athletes Cultural Association, President
• International Paralympic Committee, Member of the Honorary Board
• Land Transport and Mechanical Union, Honorary President
• Princess Haya Biotechnology Center, Honorary President
• Princess Haya Cultural & Islamic Centre, Honorary President
• Tkiyet Um Ali, Chairperson
• Traditional Islamic Book Art Academy, President
• UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council, Chairperson
• United Nations, Messenger of Peace

Awards and Recognition

• Al Saaoon Fi Al Kheir Award (2009). Honours GCC women leaders for their volunteer and community work.
• Grand Cordon of Al Nahda (Order of the Renaissance) (2006) by King Abdullah II in recognition of Her notable humanitarian profile and for Her distinguished role in efforts to alleviate hunger and poverty on global and regional levels
• the International Golden Helm Award from the International Association of Golden Helmsmen of Tourism in recognition for setting up a tourism campaign at the request of King Hussein during her equestrian training in Germany between 1997 and 1999. The campaign resulted in a rise in the numbers of German and German-speaking tourists to Jordan from two per cent to 12.5 per cent in a two-year period (2000).
• Equestrian Personality of the Year (1996) from Spanish Equestrian Federation.
• First and only woman in Jordan (to date) to hold a heavy goods and articulated vehicle licence. * She is the only a member of the Jordanian Royal family to be member of a trade union
• Nominated ‘Athlete of the Year’ by Arab BBC Radio after winning numerous national and international events in the Middle East and Asia (1994).
• Voted ‘Athlete of the Year’ by the Jordanian Public (1993).
• Twice decorated by HM the Late King Hussein for excellence in international equestrian sport (1988 and 1992).
• Five time winner of Jordanian National Show Jumping Championships (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1992).
• Nominated by the International Femmes Mythique Association as one a ‘Legendary Women’

Titles and Styles

• 3 May 1974 – 10 April 2004: Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan
• since 10 April 2004: Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, Sheikha of Dubai

Ruling Family of Dubai

HH The Emir Sheikh HH Sheikha Hind HH The Hereditary Prince HH Sheikha Hassa HH Sheikh Rashid HH Sheikh Maktoum HH Sheikh Ahmed HH Sheikh Saeed HH Sheikha Latifa HH Sheikha Maryam HH Sheikha Sheikha HH Sheikha Futaim HH Sheikha Salamah HH Sheikha Shamma HH Sheikha Manal HH Sheikha Maryam HH Sheikha Latifa HH Sheikha Maitha HH Sheikh Majed HH Sheikh Mansour HH sheikha Latifa HH Sheikha Shamsa HH Sheikha Mahra HRH Princess Haya of Jordan HH Sheikha Al Jalila HH Sheikh Zayed HH Sheikha Alia HH Sheikh Saeed HH Sheikh Hamdan HH Sheikh Ahmed HH Sheikh Mohammed

External links

• Official website