Jordan's New King
Jordan's King Abdullah is a political novice who has seen his life as a leading army officer totally transformed in the space of just a few days.
The swearing in of Abdullah took place before parliament on Sunday just hours after it was announced on Jordanian state television that Hussein had died of heart failure after a long struggle with cancer.
After the announcement Abdullah, wearing traditional Arab head-dress, appeared on television to lead the nation in grieving, vow to maintain his father's policies and call for national unity.
He read slowly and haltingly in a broken Arabic -- the legacy of his English mother and overseas education.
Hussein named Abdullah, his eldest son, as heir to the desert kingdom's throne last month and the 37-year-old Crown Prince was appointed regent on Saturday as his father lay unconscious and kept alive artificially by a life support machine.
The new king, who had been commander of Jordan's Special Forces in an army that forms the bedrock of support for the ruling Hashemite dynasty, had rarely been considered a leading contender for the throne.
Close associates say Abdullah, whose interests include collecting ancient weapons, had little ambition outside the army, telling military sources as recently as two months ago he had no wish to be king.
However, he was thrown into the international spotlight by his father's shock decision last week to install him as heir in place of Hussein's brother Prince Hassan, the designated successor for 34 years.
Abdullah was crown prince for a short time in his infancy but his uncle, Prince Hassan -- King Hussein's youngest brother -- was appointed heir in 1965 to ensure the crown would not pass to a young child at a time of mounting Middle East turmoil.
Abdullah's main role has been within Jordan's Special Forces, a highly specialized commando unit dedicated to maintaining internal order. It helped to quell riots in southern Jordan in 1996.
Last year he led a high-profile Special Forces operation to storm the hideout of gunmen who had killed eight people in Amman. When the shooting was over Jordanians chanted his name on the streets.
A few months later his father promoted him to major-general and diplomats speculated that the king, the Middle East's longest-serving ruler, was grooming him to take command of Jordan's land forces.
Although Jordan's constitution does not rule it out, the fact Abdullah had an English mother, born a non-Moslem, had been seen as an obstacle to his taking the throne of a tribal Moslem country.
Prince Abdullah was born in Amman on January 30, 1962, the son of King Hussein by his second wife, Englishwoman Toni Gardiner, known as Princess Muna.
He was sent to school in England aged four but completed his high school education in the United States. He later took one-year courses in international affairs at Oxford University in England and Georgeton University in Washington.
In 1980 he joined the British military academy at Sandhurst and served in the British army in West Germany and Britain. He served in Jordan's 41st and 90th armoured brigades, the air force's Helicopter Anti-tank Wing and the Second Guards Brigade.
In 1993 he was appointed deputy commander of the Special Forces, assuming command one year later.
Abdullah married Princess Rania in June 1993. They have a son, Prince Hussein, and a daughter, Princess Iman.
Abdullah is a qualified frogman and pilot. His interests include car racing, water sports, scuba diving and collecting ancient weapons.