Portrait of a Princess

This portrait on display at Burjuman Shopping Mall belongs to the wife of the Ruler of Dubai. Her Royal Highness Princess Haya of Jordan, born May 1974 is one of King Hussein I of Jordan's daughters. Princess Haya is the junior wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's two wives.

Sheikha of Dubai portrait. On display at the 2nd Floor of Burjuman Mall.

Princess Haya is an avid sportswoman. She participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney Australia representing Jordan in show jumping, where she was also the flag bearer for the Jordanian delegation, and regularly takes part in equestrian events. She has been elected president of the International Equestrian Federation for a standard four-year term ending in 2010. Princess Haya was also selected as a member of the international athletes commission at the International Olympic Committee.

Her Royal Highness Princess Haya has engaged in a range of humanitarian activities and founded Tikyet Um Ali, the first Arab NGO dedicated to overcoming hunger, in her native Jordan, and now chairs Dubai's International Humanitarian City. She was appointed a UN Messenger of Peace in July 2007 by Secretary-General Ban-Ky Moon and earlier was the first woman and first Arab to serve as an ambassador for the World Food Programme (2005-07). She is a founding member of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Global Humanitarian Forum based in Geneva and serves on the boards of many other non-profit organizations.

On 2 December 2007, HRH Princess Haya, Sheikha of Dubai gave birth to her first daughter, HH Sheikha Al Jalila bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The baby's birth coincides with the United Arab Emirates' 36th celebration of National Day.

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