ʿAbdullah, the eldest son of King Ḥussein, served as the crown prince until age three, when unrest in the Middle East prompted Ḥussein to name ʿAbdullah's adult uncle, Prince Ḥassan, heir to the throne. ʿAbdullah was educated in Great Britain and the United States, and in 1980 he graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England. He later served in the British Armed Forces as well as in Jordan's Armed Forces in the 41st and 90th armoured brigades. In 1993 he was appointed deputy commander of the country's elite Special Forces, a post he held until assuming the throne. That year ʿAbdullah married a Palestinian, Rania al-Yasin.

In January 1999 King Ḥussein, whose health was deteriorating, named ʿAbdullah the new heir to the Hashimite crown. Hours after the death of his father on February 7, 1999, ʿAbdullah became king of Jordan; he was officially crowned on June 9. In his new role, ʿAbdullah continued to follow many of his father's policies. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, ʿAbdullah supported the United States' efforts to combat terrorism, and, after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, U.S. forces were permitted to maintain bases in Jordan. He also focused on stemming the power of Islamists in Jordan and improving the status of women in his country. In an effort to bolster the weak economy, he promoted free market reforms. Support for an Arab-Israeli peace agreement also was a high priority for ʿAbdullah, and he continued to demonstrate his active commitment to the peace process by participating in negotiations, meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and calling international attention to the issue throughout the 2000s.