Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, President of the Club of Rome

HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal, Jordan, is the youngest son of King Talal of Jordan and brother of the late King Hussein. He served as his brother’s closest political advisor, confidant and deputy, as well as acting as Regent in the King’s absence from the country. Prince Hassan is a strong advocate for peace and economic development in Jordan, and is President of the Club of Rome.

Prince Hassan holds a BA (Hons.) in oriental studies and MA degrees from Christ Church College, Oxford University. He also holds several honorary doctorates from distinguished universities. Prince Hassan has initiated, founded and is actively involved in a number of Jordanian and international institutes and committees. He chaired the committees overseeing his country’s first Development Plan, founded the Royal Scientific Society, the annual Bilad Al-Sham Conference , the Al al-Bait Foundation , the Arab Thought Forum , and the Jordan Higher Council for Science and Technology. He has established and currently directs the Islamic Scientific Academy, the Triannual Conference on the History and Archeology of Jordan, the Hashemite Aid and Relief Agency, the Centre for Educational Development, the Institute for Diplomacy, and the new Al al-Bait University in Mafraq.

On the international stage, in his address to the 36th UN General Assembly in 1981, Prince Hassan proposed the establishment of the New International Humanitarian Order. This led to his being asked by the U.N. Secretary-General to found and co-chair the Independent Commission on International Humanitarian Issues, whose report was adopted by the 42nd session of the U.N. General Assembly in 1987. Prince Hassan chairs or is a member of a number of international committees and organizations. He is the Chairman of the Policy Advisory Commission of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a member of the Informal Advisory Group of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, President of the Club of Rome, Co-Chair of the Independent Bureau for Humanitarian Issues, and a Founding Member and Vice-Chairman of the Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue. Prince Hassan is a member of the International Board of the Council on Foreign Relations, Honorary Member of the UNESCO World Commission on Culture and Development, and a Member of the Committee of UNESCO’s International Interreligious Advisory Committee.

Decorated by over twenty nations, Prince Hassan received the inaugural Gandhi/King/Ikeda Community Builders Prize at the Martin King, Jr. International Chapel in 2001. In the field of religion, Prince Hassan’s activities have evolved into a systematic interfaith dialogue. Prince Hassan has maintained an active interest in young people and has actively promoted sports within Jordan. He is the author or co-author of six books, most recently Continuity, Innovation and Change: Selected Essays (2001), which have all been translated into several languages. He has contributed to several newspapers, magazines and periodicals, as well as publications on regional and international issues.