Raya El Hassan (, ar, ريا الحسن; born January 1967) is a Lebanese politician who held the office of the interior and municipalities ministry, and the finance ministry. She is the first woman in Lebanon to be appointed to these and equivalent posts in the government.

Early life and education

El Hassan was born in January 1967 into a

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

family. She received a bachelor's degree in business administration from

the American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, auto ...

in June 1987. She then obtained a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in finance in investments from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

in 1990.

Career

Early in her career, El Hassan worked with Méditerranée Investors Group. She then served as an advisor to the Minister of Economy and Trade and later worked as a member of the Office of the Prime Minister, leading different projects and supervising expenditure management reforms. Subsequently, El Hassan also worked on reforms, elaborating economic and social reform agendas, for the Prime Minister's office. Prior to her appointment as Finance Minister, she also worked on other administrating programmes under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank.

Minister of Finance

El Hassan was appointed Minister of Finance on 9 November 2009, replacing

Mohamad Chatah Mohamad Chatah ( ar, محمد شطح; 7 March 1951 – 27 December 2013) was a Lebanese economist and diplomat. Biography Chatah was born in Tripoli, Lebanon. He studied economics at the American University in Beirut and earned a doctorate at ...

in the post. Her tenure ended in 2011. She was succeeded by

Mohammad Safadi Mohammad Safadi ( ar, محمد الصفدي; born 28 March 1944) is a Lebanese businessman who served as minister of finance under Najib Mikati between 2011 and 2014. He was also the minister of economy and trade from 2008 to 2011. Early life an ...

Minister of Interior and Municipalities

El Hassan was appointed Minister of Interior and Municipalities on 31 January 2019, replacing Nohad Machnouk in the post. She was succeeded by Mohammed Fahmi in January 2020.

Additional affiliations and memberships

El Hassan is a member of the

March 14 Alliance The March 14 Alliance ( ar, تحالف 14 آذار, taḥāluf 14 adhār}), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, is a coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that are united by their anti-Syrian stance ...

and an ally of

Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ar, سعد الدين رفيق الحريري, translit=Saʿd ad-Dīn Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 t ...

. In 2016, she served on the advisory board of the Arab Human Development Reports. El Hassan was a member of the board of directors at MedInvestment Bank (BankMed), where she also serves on the audit committee. On 9 Oct. 2020, she was appointed as chairperson of the board of directors of BankMed. She is also the chairman and general manager of the Tripoli Special Economic Zone (TSEZ).

Personal life

El Hassan is married to Janah El Hassan. She has three children.

References

External links

Raya Haffar El Hassan – Home , Facebook

Raya Haffar El Hassan (@rayaelhassan) , Twitter

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Raya Hafar El 1967 births Living people Lebanese Sunni Muslims Finance ministers of Lebanon American University of Beirut alumni George Washington University School of Business alumni Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Female finance ministers 21st-century Lebanese women politicians 21st-century Lebanese politicians People from Tripoli, Lebanon Women government ministers of Lebanon Female interior ministers Future Movement politicians