Marie-Claude Najm ( ar, ماري كلود نجم; born 6 April 1971) is a Lebanese academic who served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

from 2020 to 2021.

Education and academic career

Najm studied law at the

Saint Joseph University Saint Joseph University of Beirut ( French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit mis ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and continued her studies at the

Paris-Panthéon-Assas University Paris-Panthéon-Assas University or Assas University (french: link=no, Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas; nivɛʁsite pɑ̃teɔ̃ asas, commonly known as Assas ( sas or Paris 2 (french: link=no, Paris II aʁi dø, is a university in Par ...

from where she also graduated and later earned her PhD. She taught at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the

and also in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, where she was a visiting professor at the University Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) and the University Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I). She is closely related to the Saint Joseph University, where she is the director of the Center for Legal Studies in the Arab World ("CEDROMA") and Dean of the Faculty of Law as of 2022. Her publications focus on conflicts of laws and jurisdictions. In 2007 she was a founding member of the “Khalass!", which aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the political deadlock at the time. She was a supporter of the protests in 2019–2020, again a founding member of a civil protest movement and taught law in the revolutionary tents of the Martyrs' Square in Beirut.

Political career

In January 2020, Najm became the Minister of Justice in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Prime Minister

Hassan Diab Hassan Diab ( ar, حسان دياب, Ḥassān Dyāb; born 1 June 1959) is a Lebanese academic, engineer and politician who served as the 37th Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. He was ...

. She was one of the six female ministers in the Diab Government counting 20 ministries, which was viewed as a step in the right direction towards

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

in Lebanon politics. Shortly after the

2020 Beirut explosions On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 30 ...

, on , Najm announced her resignation from the government. Najm was the third cabinet minister to step down after the explosions. Her resignation sparked that of the Diab government within hours. Her final act in Diab's government was to commission the Supreme Council of Lebanon, which is the country's top judicial body, to investigate the causes of the disaster, and thereby relieved the public prosecutor

Ghassan El Khoury The Ghassanids ( ar, الغساسنة, translit=al-Ġasāsina, also Banu Ghassān (, romanized as: ), also called the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe which founded a kingdom. They emigrated from southern Arabia in the early 3rd century to the Levan ...

of the task.

Personal life

She is married to Daniel Kobeh. The couple has a daughter. Najm is a

Maronite Christian Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the country ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Najm, Marie-Claude 1971 births Living people Female justice ministers Government ministers of Lebanon Academic staff of Saint Joseph University Lebanese Maronites Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni Politicians from Beirut Saint Joseph University alumni Women government ministers of Lebanon Justice ministers of Lebanon Free Patriotic Movement politicians 21st-century Lebanese women politicians 21st-century Lebanese politicians