Manal Abdel Samad

Manal Abdel Samad (; 28 March 1975 ) is a Lebanese politician who held the position of the Minister of Information in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Hassan Diab in the year 2020.

Education From the year 2004 until the year 2009, Manal Abdel Samad studied fiscal laws at the American University of Beirut (AUB), from where she also received her MBA. Then, she pursued her studies to obtain her Ph.D in which she was involved in the implementation of a Value-added Tax (VAT) in Lebanon. A few years later, she was promoted to the Head of the Department of Tax Legislation and Policy at the Directorate of VAT. Additionally, she was a lecturer at both the Saint Joseph University (USJ) and the American University of Beirut (AUB). In relation of the spark of the Coronavirus disease pandemic, many conspiracy theories started to circulate in the country, which she quickly addressed and countered by announcing a cooperation with World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme. Then, Manal Abdel Samad resigned her position on the 9th of August 2020, following the explosions in the port of Beirut which took place on August 4, 2020. The next day, Dr. Hassan Diab announced the resignation of the government, and Manal Abdel Samad had been fulfilling the duties of the minister as a caretaker until a new successor is found.

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. Manal Abdel-Samad is a Druze.