Abdullah, a constitutional monarch with wide executive and legislative powers, liberalized the economy when he assumed the throne, and his reforms led to an economic boom which continued until 2008.

[6][19] After Sandhurst, Abdullah was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Army and served a year in Britain and West Germany as a troop commander in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (now the Light Dragoons).

[20] The prince then attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 1987, undertaking advanced study and research in international affairs.

[20] After Hussein returned from a six-month medical absence from Jordan in late 1998, he criticized his brother Hassan's management of Jordanian affairs in a public letter, accusing him of abusing his constitutional powers as regent.

[37]With the George W. Bush administration planning an attack on Iraq, accusing Saddam Hussein of possessing weapons of mass destruction, Abdullah opposed American intervention.

[42] His postponement was criticized by the largest Islamist opposition party in the country, the Islamic Action Front (the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood), who accused Abdullah of impeding the democratic process.

[42] He inherited a controversial single non-transferable vote electoral system, implemented by his father in 1991, which hobbled Islamic political parties after they obtained 22 of 80 seats in the 1989 elections.

He called the Muslim Brotherhood a "Masonic cult" and "wolves in sheep's clothing", described ousted Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi as a man with "no depth" and said that Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan saw democracy as "a bus ride".

According to the article, Abdullah was accused of "illegally appropriating 'tribal' lands" shortly after his accession and members of 36 Jordanian tribes issued a statement denouncing Queen Rania's "publicized and extravagant" 43rd birthday party in 2013.

[78] Before returning to Jordan, Abdullah swiftly ratified death sentences previously handed down to two imprisoned Iraqi jihadists, Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad Al-Karbouly, who were executed before dawn of the next day.

"[93] Senator Bob Corker confirmed Abdullah's influence in an interview: "We call him the Henry Kissinger of that part of the world and we do always love to listen to his view of the region.

He was hosted by President Trump at the White House and they discussed "terrorism, the threat from Iran and the crisis in Syria, and working towards a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians".

[102][103] In an interview with Der Spiegel in May 2020, Abdullah criticized Donald Trump's plans for peace in the Middle East including Israel annexing parts of the West Bank.

[111] On 7 April, King Abdullah II spoke publicly for the first time since the alleged coup and hinted that the Jordanian royal feud was over, stating that the "sedition" that caused him "pain and anger" was now buried and that Hamzah was now "in his palace under my protection.

"[108][112] Abdullah also stated that the crisis began when Jordan's military chief of staff paid a visit to Hamzah and warned him to stop attending meetings with critics of the government.

[122][123][124] A video filmed by Jordanian TV station Al-Mamlaka depicted Abdullah personally taking part in one of these airdrops, which delivered food aid and medical supplies to affected areas.

[131][130] Insufficient natural resources, especially in water and oil (unlike its neighbors) have given the kingdom chronic government debt, unemployment and poverty[130] which led to a dependence on foreign aid from its Western and Arab allies in the Persian Gulf region.

[130] He has been credited with attracting foreign investment, improving public-private partnerships and providing the foundation for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and Jordan's flourishing information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

It included incorporating proportional representation into general elections, improving the judicial branch and respect for human rights, and tackling issues related to employment, welfare, education and infrastructure.

[153] The amendments gave the king sole authority to appoint his crown prince, deputy, the chief and members of the constitutional court, the heads of the military and paramilitary forces and the country's General Intelligence Director.

[173] Vandalism of the Egyptian pipeline supplying Jordan strained the country's electrical company, whose debt increased substantially; this prompted Abdullah to urge the government to formulate a 10-year plan (2015–2025) to diversify the kingdom's energy sources.

[175][176] In 2007, Abdullah said that Jordan intends to benefit from its large uranium reserves by building nuclear reactors to generate electricity; the country is one of the few non-petroleum-producing nations in the region.

[179] In 2018, the country's Atomic Energy Commission announced that Jordan was in talks with multiple companies to build the first commercial nuclear plant, a Helium-cooled reactor that is scheduled for completion in 2025.

[185] The move provoked outrage by opponents, including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which said that the agreement favored Israel and its occupation of the West Bank and accused the government of ignoring renewable-energy options.

"Your defence of religious freedom and Your leadership, in ensuring that the Status Quo is respected and maintained, has been crucial in our ongoing attempts to guard and protect the Christian presence especially in the Holy City of Jerusalem", the letter read.

[201] In a letter to Hamzah read on Jordanian state television, Abdullah said: "Your holding this symbolic position has restrained your freedom and hindered our entrusting you with certain responsibilities that you are fully qualified to undertake.

[207] Abdullah has listed skydiving, motorcycling, water sports and collecting ancient weapons as his interests and hobbies, and is a fan of the science-fiction series Star Trek.

[216] His lawyers denied any misuse of public funds or tax evasion and stated that they were bought from the monarch's private wealth and through offshore companies for security and privacy reasons.

A Royal Court statement said that the funds were a result of selling an Airbus A340 plane that belonged to his father the late King Hussein for $212 million, and that it was replaced with a smaller, less costly Gulfstream aircraft.

[5][218] Algeria: Austria: Bahrain: Belgium: Brunei: Cyprus: Czech Republic: Finland: Georgia: Germany: Guinea Bissau: Italy: Japan: Kazakhstan: Lebanon: Libya: Montenegro: Morocco: Netherlands: Norway: Oman: Palestine: Peru: Poland: Portugal: Romania: Slovenia: South Korea: Spain: Sweden: Tunisia: Ukraine: United Arab Emirates: United Kingdom: