Meet the 5 women in Lebanon's new government

Lebanon’s prime minister on Saturday announced the formation of a new government cabinet, including five women who will serve as ministers of education, environment, social affairs, tourism and youth and sports.

Rosaleen Carroll
Rosaleen Carroll
Feb 10, 2025
Lebanon government
A composite image shows (from top left, clockwise) Minister of Environment Tamara Elzein, Minister of Education and Higher Education Rima Karami, Minister of Youth and Sports Nora Bayrakdarian, Minister of Tourism Laura Khazen-Lahoud and Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Sayed. — Getty Images, World Bank, Twitter/X

On Saturday, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam appointed a new government consisting of 24 ministers, including five women, marking the country’s first full cabinet since 2022.

Speaking to reporters at Beirut’s Baabda Palace, Salam said the new cabinet would focus on undertaking economic reforms, initiating reconstruction of South Lebanon following Israel's invasion and implementing UN Resolution 1701. “Reform is the only path to real salvation,” he said. 

The announcement of a new government follows weeks of tense negotiations with political parties to resolve disputes over ministerial positions, particularly with the Hezbollah-Amal Shiite bloc, often referred to as the Shiite duo. In a first since 2008, the bloc had to relinquish their demand to maintain a "blocking third," which would have given them power to hold legislations and potentially bring down the government. 

The cabinet will include five women, comprising almost 21% of the cabinet, just short of the record six women appointed in 2020.   

Minister of Education and Higher Education Rima Karami

Rima Karami is the director of the TAMAM Project, an initiative for sustainable school improvement in the Arab world that earned a UNESCO prize in 2022. Karami is an associate professor and chairperson at American University of Beirut.  

Karami graduated from AUB with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a teaching diploma in science education before earning her master’s degree in science education. She also earned a doctorate in education from Portland State University in the United States. Her research on education has been widely published.  

Minister of Environment Tamara Elzein

Tamara Elzein served as the secretary-general of Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research and previously advised Lebanon’s minister of education on scientific research. She was the first woman in that position and will be the first to serve as Lebanon's minister of environment.

Elzein was a laureate of the L'Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science prize for the Levant-Egypt region in 2016, and in 2017 she received the International Rising Talent Award. Elzein received a master's degree in chemistry from The Lebanese University and earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from France's University of Haute-Alsace. Before returning to Lebanon in 2013, she spent 10 years as a university professor and researcher in France. 

Elzein gave an interview to Al Hadath the day of her appointment in which she outlined priorities for her ministry, including confronting "environmental crime" by Israel in southern Lebanon.

In another interview with Al Jadeed on Sunday, Elzein stressed the need to strengthen the Lebanese state, saying that Lebanon must "consider how to re-institutionalize work within ministries and public administrations … as no one can replace the state." 

Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Sayed

Haneen Sayed worked as a lead specialist at the World Bank, where she led the organization’s social response to Lebanon’s financial crisis. According to the World Bank, Sayed also worked at Morgan Stanley, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.

Sayed is an economist by training, with a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and graduate degrees from both Stanford and Columbia University. She also taught at multiple universities in New York City.  

In an interview with Al Hadath on Monday, Sayed said her ministry "has a lot of work" to do, emphasizing the fallout from the Israel-Hezbollah war and tackling Lebanon's poverty rate, which she said has increased "due to the economic financial crisis." She also said her ministry would work with the new Syrian government as well as the international community on the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon. "We will start as soon as possible," she said, noting that the new government must first gain the trust of the Lebanese parliament. 

Minister of Tourism Laura Khazen-Lahoud

Laura Khazen-Lahoud previously served as executive vice president of the Al Bustan International Festival of Music and the Performing Arts in Lebanon. She also held private sector roles, including serving as managing director of Al Bustan Hotel & Spa since 2016 and as a board member at C.A.T. Group, a construction firm headquartered in Luxembourg, since 2020. 

Khazen-Lahoud earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of London, a master's degree in mathematics and operational research from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of London. 

After her appointment, Khazen-Lahoud told Lebanon’s MTV, “The responsibility is great, but I am optimistic. We have entered a new phase with President Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam.” 

Minister of Youth and Sports Nora Bayrakdarian

Nora Bayrakdarian is a professor of international relations at AUB and at The Lebanese University, where she heads the international relations department. She also serves as a member of The Lebanese University's International Doctoral Committee and oversees the university’s Political Science Committee.  

Bayrakdarian is a member of Lebanon’s Armenian community and serves on the Central Committee of the Armenian Orthodox Church, Holy See of Cilicia. 

She studied political science at The Lebanese University before earning a Ph.D. in international relations from Sorbonne University in Paris.

In a Saturday interview with Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper, Bayrakdarian stressed the need to "revive" the ministry as Lebanon enters its "reconstruction phase." "Together we are working to restore Lebanon to its glory," she said. Bayrakdarian declined to speak about specific projects that the ministry will implement.

What's next: The government will hold its first session on Tuesday at 11 a.m. local time, according to a statement posted to X by the office of Lebanon's president.

But before the new cabinet can implement policy, it must draft a ministerial statement outlining its goals and priorities. This statement will then be submitted to Lebanon's 128-seat parliament for a confidence vote. 

Salam's statement on Saturday already highlighted the new government's top priorities, including reform, the full implementation of UN resolution 1701, reconstruction and economic stability, which are expected to be reflected in the ministerial statement. 

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