Halaby was born in Dallas, Texas.[1] His father was Najeeb Elias Halaby (March 17, 1878/1880 – December 16, 1928), a SyrianChristian[2][3][4] who was born in Damascus and whose parents hailed from Aleppo, arriving in the United States in 1891.[5][6][7] Halaby's paternal grandfather was Elias Halaby, a provincial treasurer or magistrate in Ottoman Syria,[4] who also came to the United States in 1891.
Halaby's father worked as an importer, and later as an oil broker. In the mid-1920s he opened Halaby Galleries, a rug boutique and interior-decorating shop, at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, and ran it with his American wife, Halaby's mother, Laura Halaby (nee Wilkins) (April 23, 1889 – April 1987). His father died shortly afterward, and his estate was unable to continue the new enterprise. Following the death of Halaby's father, Laura Halaby married Urban B. Koen, but they ultimately divorced. Halaby's maternal grandfather was John Thomas Wilkins, who served in the 7th Tennessee Cavalry during the American Civil War.[8]
Najeeb Halaby, Bobbie R. Allen, Alan S. Boyd at AISI event abt. 1965CAB Supervisor Bobbie R. Allen and FAA Administrator Najeeb Halaby discuss accident details abt. 1963
From 1961 to 1965, he served as the second Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) – the future Federal Aviation Administration, having been appointed by President John F. Kennedy. Halaby was a proponent for the creation of the United States Department of Transportation, which occurred in April 1967 during his time in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. During his tenure as FAA administrator, he also was the lead proponent of the Boeing 2707 Supersonic Jet. President Johnson signed Executive Order 11149 approving $1 billion to build a US-made SST, but eventually the project was cancelled in 1971 because of its cost.
From 1969 to 1972, he served as CEO, and chairman after 1970, of Pan American World Airways. As Pan American World Airways chairman, he was present at the christening of the first Boeing 747 aircraft in 1970.
Personal life
Halaby was married three times. He married Doris Carlquist in Washington, D.C., on December 24, 1945; they divorced in 1977. They had three children: daughter Lisa, who became Queen of Jordan in 1978; son Christian; and daughter Alexa.[13] He attended the state funeral of his son-in-law King Hussein as a member of the United States delegation in February 1999.
He married Jane Allison Coates in 1980; she died in 1996. Then from 1997, when he was aged 81, until his death in 2003 at age 87, Halaby was married to Libby Anderson Cater.[14]
