Manal Abdel Samad

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Manal Abdel Samad
Minister of Information
In office
21 January 2020 – 10 September 2021
Prime MinisterHassan Diab
Preceded byJamal Al-Jarrah
Succeeded byGeorge Kurdahi
Personal details
Born (1975-03-28) 28 March 1975 (age 46)
Ammatour, Lebanon
Political partyIndependent
Alma materAmerican University of Beirut
University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne

Manal Abdel Samad Najd (Arabic: منال عبد الصمد‎; 28 March 1975[1]) is a Lebanese politician and Minister of Information in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Hassan Diab since 21 January 2020.

Education[]

From 2004 to 2009, she studied fiscal laws at the American University of Beirut, from where she received an MBA.[2] She followed up on her studies and from 2010 and 2014 at the Sorbonne University in Paris, where she obtained a Ph.D.[2]

Professional career[]

In 1997, she began to serve in the Lebanese Ministry of Finance,[3] where she was involved in the implementation of a Value-added Tax (VAT) in Lebanon. Later she became the Head of the Department of Tax Legislation and Policy at the Directorate of VAT.[4] She was also a lecturer at both the Saint Joseph University and the American University of Beirut.[2]

Political career[]

In January 2020, she became the Minister of Information, after being proposed by the Prime Minister Dr. Hassan Diab as an independent candidate.[3] She was one of the six female ministers of a total of 20 in the Diab Government, which was viewed as a step in the right direction towards gender equality in Lebanese politics.[5] In relation of the spark of Coronavirus disease, conspiracy theories arose in Lebanon, which she countered by announcing a cooperation with World Health Organization, UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme.[6] She resigned her position on 9 August 2020, following the explosions in the port of Beirut.[7] The next day, Hassan Diab announced the resignation of the government, and Samad is fulfilling the duties of the minister as a caretaker until a successor is found.[8]

Personal life[]

Manal Abdel-Samad was born on 28 March 1975. She is married to Youssef Najd and has three children with him: Carole, Rayan and Rami-Jo. She is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.[9] Abdel-Samad is a Druze.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Abdel Samad, Manal (1975-....)". IdRef. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Libnanews, Newsdesk. "Qui est Manal Abdel Samad, la nouvelle ministre de l'information?". libnanews.com (in French). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Who is in the new Lebanese government?". The National. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Vers une nouvelle gouvernance fiscale". fr.linkedin.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Six female ministers: a positive step in the right direction, but what about political impartiality?". L'Orient-Le Jour. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  6. ^ "The Ministry of Information partners with WHO, UNICEF and UNDP to counter the spread of COVID-19 misinformation in Lebanon". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  7. ^ France-Presse, Agence (9 August 2020). "Lebanon information minister quits in first cabinet resignation since blast". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Lebanese government quits amid fury over Beirut blast". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Manal Biography". Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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