Manal Abdel Samad

From 2004 to 2009, she studied fiscal laws at the American University of Beirut, from where she also received her MBA.[2] She proceeded with her studies and then obtained her Ph.D[2] from the Sorbonne University in Paris in 2014.

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]

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]

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]