Alia Baha ud-din Toukan (; 25 December 1948 – 9 February 1977), also known as Alia Al Hussein (), was Queen of Jordan as the third wife of King Hussein from their marriage on 24 December 1972 until her death in a helicopter crash in 1977.

Background

thumb|left|Queen Alia walking alongside Jordanian Army Chief of Staff [[Habis Majali.]]

Alia Toukan was born on 25 December 1948 in Cairo, Egypt, the daughter of Baha Toukan and his wife Hanan Hashim. Her mother, a homemaker, was a grandniece of Ibrahim Hashim Pasha, and her father was a diplomat. Toukan, a close confidant of King Abdullah I of Jordan, had previously helped write the Jordanian Constitution in 1952, and had served as Jordan's first Ambassador to the United Nations. She studied political science with a minor in social psychology, and public relations at Hunter College in New York City. Her funeral ceremony took place on the following day, in which members of the Jordanian Armed Forces took part. Among the foreign dignitaries at the funeral was the Syrian president Hafez al-Assad.

Amman's principal airport, Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), was built in 1983 and named in her honour. It is located 32 km (20 miles) south of the city and replaced Amman Marka International Airport (now Amman Civil Airport) as the city's main gateway.

Honours and decorations

; National

  • 50px Dame Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of al-Hussein bin Ali.
  • 50px Dame Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance [special class] (24 December 1972).

; Foreign

  • 50px Member of the Order of Gabriela Silang (Republic of the Philippines, 1 March 1976).
  • 50px Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown (Empire of Japan, 3 March 1976).
  • 50px Great Star of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (Republic of Austria, 15 June 1976).

Institutions named after or associated with Queen Alia

  • Queen Alia International Airport
  • Queen Alia Military Hospital
  • Securing Political Constitutional Rights for Women
  • The SOS Children's Village
  • The Queen Alia Foundation for Hearing and Speech
  • The Farah Rehabilitation Unit at the King Hussein Medical Center
  • The Queen Alia Heart Institute, also at the King Hussein Medical Center
  • Tkiyet Um Ali Queen Alia (Um Ali – The Mother of Ali)