Lebanon, Meet Your New Ministers

Who’s doing what in the new Lebanese government? Let’s find out:

Prime Minister – Hassan Diab

Lebanese engineer and academic. Previous Minister of Education (2011-2014). Former Vice President for Regional External Programs (REP) at the American University of Beirut.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants – Nassif Hitti

Former ambassador to the Arab League. Former representative to UNESCO and a member of the Al-Monitor board of directors. Previous Director of the Higher Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences at the School of Law and Political Sciences at USEK. Holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Southern California and an MA in Political Science from AUB.

Minister of Justice – Mary-Claude Najem

Professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. Head of the Private Law Department and Director of the Center for Human Rights Studies for the Arab World.

Minister of Public Works and Transport – Michel Najjar

Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Vice-President for Administrative Affairs at Balamand University. Holds a PhD in Structural Engineering.

Minister of Interior and Municipalities – Mohammad Fahmi

Former army general. Studied at James Madison University in the US and enlisted in the Lebanese Army in 1978. Became director of military intelligence between 1997-2006. Joined BLOM Bank as adviser on security affairs in 2016.

Minister of Social Affairs – Ramzi Msharrafieh

Graduate of the American University of Beirut Medical School. Former orthopedic at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopedic Hospital in the UK. Previous head of the orthopedic department at AUBMC (1992-2000). Medical doctor specialized in orthopedics, hand, and reconstructive surgery at CMC.

Minister of Finance – Ghazi Wazni

Economic adviser to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Former adviser to the Lebanese Government’s Budget Committee (2009-2011). Former economics professor and consultant.

Minister of Labor – Lamia Yammine Douaihy

Architect and university professor at the Lebanese University in Tripoli, where she previously studied architectural engineering. Member of the board of directors at a wood design company, Douaihy pour le bois.

Minister of Energy – Raymond Ghajar

Professor of Electrical Engineering, previous dean of the faculty of engineering, and previous vice-president for human resources at LAU. Former adviser to the Ministry of Energy.

Minister of Youth and Sports – Varti Ohanian

Social worker and founder of the Zvartnots Center, an education center in Beirut for children with special needs.

Minister of Telecommunications – Talal Hawat

Electric engineer. Worked at CISCO, an American multinational technology conglomerate based in Silicon Valley. Regional vice president of Sandvine, a Canadian networking equipment company.

Minister of Public Health – Hamad Hasan

PhD in Molecular Biological Sciences from the Institute of Biological and Environmental Research in Moscow. Professor at the College of Public Health and head of the department of laboratory sciences at LU. Former mayor of Baalbek (2013-2016) and president of the Baalbek Municipalities Federation (2019).

Minister of Industry – Imad Hoballah

PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Syracuse. Provost of the American University of Dubai (AUD). Former chairman and CEO of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in Lebanon.

Minister of Information – Manal Abdel Samad

PhD in International Law. Professor at AUB. Former head of the department of auditing and tax policy at the Ministry of Finance.

Minister of Environment – Dimianos Kattar

Non-executive independent board member at Credit Bank. Former Minister of Economy and Trade in Lebanon (2005) in Najib Mikati’s cabinet.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister – Zeina Akar

BS degree in Marketing/Management from LAU. Partner and Executive Director for Information International, a Beirut-based research and consultancy firm. Founder and Program Director of the Social and Cultural Development Association (INMA).

Minister of Agriculture and Culture – Abbas Mortada

Holds a master’s degree in history from the Lebanese University of Beirut. Previous general manager of a Lebanese hotel between 2015 and 2019 as well as general manager of a real estate company.

Minister of the Displaced – Ghada Shreim

Professor at the Lebanese University and used to work at a local magazine, Fairuz.

Ministry of Economy – Raoul Nehme

Chairman of the Executive Committee at ASTROBank. Executive General Manager of BankMed. Previous General Manager and Board Member at BLC Bank. Founder of an environmental sustainability NGO called Juzoor Lubnan.

Minister of Education – Tarek Majzoub

Judge at State Shura Council. He teaches law at Sagesse University in Beirut.