Haifa Yousef Fadel Najjar (born

Zarqa Zarqa ( ar, الزرقاء) is the capital of Zarqa Governorate in Jordan. Its name means "the blue (city)". It had a population of 635,160 inhabitants in 2015, and is the most populous city in Jordan after Amman. Geography Zarqa is located in t ...

, 1959) is the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

. She was appointed as minister on 11 October 2021.

Education

Najjar completed a degree in population studies at the

University of Jordan The University of Jordan ( ar, الجامعة الأردنية), often abbreviated UJ, is a public university located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1962 by royal decree, it is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Jordan. ...

before attaining a master's degree in transformational management at the

University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chanc ...

. She was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of The King's Academy and a board member of the

Greater Amman Municipality Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...

. Najjar worked at the Ahliyyah School for Girls from 1984, and was Principal at both Ahliyyah and the Bishop's School for Girls since 2008.

Honours

Najjar was awarded the Al-Hussein Humanitarian Leadership Prize (2001), the El-Hassan Bin Talal Award for Academic Excellence (2002), and the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) Award for the Promotion of International Education (2009). She received the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship from

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 2017 "for her outstanding contribution to education in Jordan and her exemplary leading role in Jordanian society as a Christian woman."

References

1959 births People from Zarqa Living people 21st-century Jordanian women politicians 21st-century Jordanian politicians Culture ministers of Jordan Women government ministers of Jordan Alumni of the University of Buckingham University of Jordan alumni {{Jordan-politician-stub