If we look back at all previous Lebanese governments since 2005, we’ve rarely had more than two female ministers in a government. This changed in 2020 when Hassan Diab appointed six female ministers, and Nawaf Salam followed suit today by appointing five female ministers in his newly formed government.

Who are the new female ministers?

Tamara el Zein: Minister of Environment

She is the Secretary-General of the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon. She officially joined the council in 2014 to work on her research project focused on the need to reduce the negative impacts of radiation on the ecosystem, natural resources, and human health. This followed 15 years spent in France as a professor of material sciences at the University of Upper Alsace in Mulhouse, northeastern France, where she earned her PhD in physical chemistry in 2002.

Zein also received the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science award for the Arab region and Egypt in 2016. In 2017, she won the Global Talent Award from the same program. She was elected president of the Science Committee at UNESCO’s 42nd General Conference in 2003, becoming the first Lebanese person to head the Science Committee since UNESCO’s founding.

Minister of Youth and Sports: Nora Bayrakdarian

She is a professor of International Relations and the head of the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the Lebanese University. She is also a member of the scientific council of the Faculty of Doctoral Studies in Law, Political Science, Administrative, and Economic Sciences.
She is a senior lecturer in International Relations in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the American University of Beirut.
She is a member of the Lebanese Economic, Social, and Environmental Council and the chairperson of the Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation within the council. She is a member of the Central Committee of the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Holy See of Cilicia.
She has authored numerous books and journal articles on a wide range of international topics.

Rima Karameh: Minister of Education

Rima Karameh is an associate professor in Educational Administration, Policies, and Leadership at the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science and a diploma in Secondary Science Education, as well as a Master’s degree in Science Education from the American University of Beirut.
She earned a Ph.D. in Education from Portland State University in Oregon, specializing in Educational Administration and Supervision for K-12, with a focus on school management, organizational change, and educational policy.
She is the Chair of the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut.
She is the Chair of the Executive Committee for Shema’a (Arab Educational Information Network).
She is a member of the Lebanese Educational Sciences Council.
She was a former advisor for the Study Project and the Educational Administration Project at the Lebanese Ministry of Education.
She is the Director and Principal Investigator for the Tamam Project, a joint developmental research project launched through a memorandum of understanding between the Arab Thought Foundation and the American University of Beirut, aimed at initiating school reform and exploring ways to build leadership capacities for sustainable improvement in schools.
She has designed and implemented numerous professional development activities for school principals and supervisors, either independently or as part of large-scale reform initiatives.

Hanine Al-Sayed: Minister of Social Affairs

She is a Senior Expert in Human Development and Social Protection at the World Bank office in Beirut, Middle East and North Africa Region.
Since the start of the financial and economic crisis in Lebanon, Hanine has led the social response to the crisis, including the large-scale Emergency Social Safety Net Program.
Between 2011 and 2017, Hanine coordinated the World Bank’s response to the Syrian crisis, including operational programs, analytical work, and donor/partner coordination.
She is an economist with academic training and holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford and Columbia Universities. She has taught at various universities in New York City and has worked at Morgan Stanley, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.

Laura Lahoud: Minister of Tourism

She is the chairwoman of the International Bustan Festival of Classical Music and the daughter of Mrs. Mirna Bustani, the first woman to enter the Lebanese Parliament in history.

Source: VDL