 Ufemia Jabaji, the first Miss Jordan 1959 | |
| Formation | 1959 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Amman |
| Location | |
Official language | Arabic |
Director | John Halabi Jihad Magazine[1] |
Miss Jordan (Arabic:ملكة جمال الأردن) was a nationalBeauty pageant inJordan.
Miss Jordan was founded in 1959 and organized by Jihad Magazine under the directorship of John Halabi. It was an annual event held with the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities under MinisterGhaleb Barakat. Miss Jordan featured contestants from bothTransjordan andWest Bank which was at that time under Jordanian administration. Usually, two titles were awarded at the pageant - "Miss Jordan" and the runner-up "Queen of Elegance". From 1959 to 1964, the pageant took place at the Hotel Philadelphia inAmman and was later moved in 1965 to Hotel Panorama in the city ofBeit Jala inWest Bank.[2] Ufemia Rizk née Jabaji became the first Miss Jordan 1959. The pageant became the national franchisee ofMiss World in 1959 and sent the first ever international representative from Jordan toMiss World the same year.[3]
Over the course of its eight-year existence, the winners and runners-up of Miss Jordan competed atMiss World and other international pageants such asMiss International andMiss Universe. The pageant was held for the last time in 1966. The Arab-Israel war of 1967 led to the cancellation of the event indefinitely and the pageant has not been organized ever since. Subsequently, Jordan withdrew fromMiss World and all other major international pageants. Vera Jalil Khamis fromJerusalem was the last Miss Jordan and representative of the country toMiss World 1966[4]
| Year | Miss Jordan | Queen of Ellegance |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Ufemia Jabaji | Eriny Emile Sabella |
| 1960 | Eriny Emile Sabella | Gulnar Tucktuck |
| 1962 | Aida Anis Saba[5] | Leila Emile Khadder |
| 1963 | Doris Tannous Haj | Despo Drakolakis[6] |
| 1964 | Katie Barnaba Faizah[7] | — |
| 1965 | Nyla Munir Haddad | Marlene Rock[8] |
| 1966 | Vera Jalil Khamis | — |
| Year | Miss Universe Jordan | Placement at Miss Universe | Special Awards | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did not compete since 1961—present | |||||
| 1960 | Helen Giatanapoulus | Unplaced | |||
| Year | Miss World Jordan | Placement at Miss World | Special Awards | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did not compete since 1967—present | |||||
| 1966 | Vera Jalil Khamis | Unplaced | |||
| 1965 | Nyla Munir Haddad | Unplaced | |||
| 1964 | Katie Barnaba Faizah | Did not compete | |||
| 1963 | Despo Drakolakis | Unplaced | |||
| 1962 | Leila Emile Khadder | Unplaced | |||
| 1961 | Did not compete | ||||
| 1960 | Eriny Emile Sabella | Unplaced | |||
| 1959 | Ufemia Jabaji | Unplaced | |||
| Year | Miss International Jordan | Placement at Miss International | Special Awards | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did not compete since 1964—present | |||||
| 1963 | Doris Tannous Haj | Unplaced | |||
| 1962 | Vivian Nazzal | Unplaced | |||
| 1961 | Did not compete | ||||
| 1960 | Gulnar Tucktuck | Unplaced | |||
| Year | Miss Intercontinental Jordan | Placement at Miss Intercontinental | Special Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did not compete since 2009—present | ||||
| 2008 | Serihan Marouni | Unplaced | ||