Zeina Adra ( Akar; ar, زينة عكر عدرا; born 1964) is a Lebanese politician who served as the

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. She was the first female defence minister in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

Early life and career

Zeina Akar was born in Koura. She has a bachelor's degree in marketing and management from the

Lebanese American University The Lebanese American University (LAU) ( ar, الجامعة اللبنانية الأميركية) is a secular and private American university located in Lebanon. It is chartered by the board of regents of the University of the State of New Y ...

. In 1998, she and her husband founded the Social and Cultural Development Association (INMA), a development

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

to provide educational, health and economic services in

Kefraya Kefraya ( ar, كفريا / ALA-LC: ''Kifrayā'') is a village in the Western Beqaa District of the Beqaa Governorate in the Republic of Lebanon, approximately northwest of Joub Jannine. The village is home to a mixed population of Sunnis and Gr ...

and

. She was the executive director of the research and consultancy firm "Information International", which was founded by her husband.

Political career

Akar was appointed Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in January 2020, one of six women appointed to the twenty member

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 ...

in the new government headed by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

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 is the country's first female defence minister, and the first female defence minister in the Arab world. The appointment of the six women to Lebanon's Cabinet was met with "an outpouring amount of comments, memes, and jokes sexualizing and objectifying them". However, this was rectified at a later stage where Zeina Akar was complimented for having outstanding managerial and organizational skills. Akar has no military or defense background. When asked about her appointment, Diab questioned the need to have specialists for the job. She has been accused of being affiliated with various political parties, but sources denied this saying she has no partisan background and was chosen by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Michel Aoun Michel Naim Aoun ( ar, ميشال نعيم عون ; born 30 September 1933) is a Lebanese politician and former military general who served as the President of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 until 30 October 2022. Born in Haret Hreik to a Mar ...

. Lawyer Imad al-Hout said "It is clear that the choice of ministers, including the defense minister, was not based primarily on efficiency but on loyalty." The Cabinet as a whole has been called "

technocratic Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...

". At the handover ceremony on 23 January 2020, Akar spoke about the right of the people to protest and pressure the government and the government's responsibility to act in the people's best interests. She said her priority was fighting corruption and asked people to watch she would do before judging her. Following the explosion in Beirut on 4 August 2020, Hassan Diab's Government resigned on 10 August and Akar will have the function of a caretaker of the Ministry until a replacing Government is constituted.

Personal life

Akar is

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

. She is married to Jawad Adra, 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 ...

businessman who heads one of the country's largest research companies, and built the

Nabu Museum The Nabu Museum is a museum in El-Heri, in Ras Al Shaqa’, Lebanon. It opened in 2018, having been built in just eight months by businessman Jawad Adra to house his collection of about 2,000 items including both contemporary works of art and ...

with artefacts mostly from his private collection. They were married in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

as they could not have a civil marriage in Lebanon as a Christian and a Muslim.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akar, Zeina 21st-century Lebanese women politicians 21st-century Lebanese politicians 1964 births Living people Deputy prime ministers of Lebanon Female defence ministers Free Patriotic Movement politicians Defense ministers of Lebanon Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Lebanese American University alumni Lebanese social scientists People from Koura District Women government ministers of Lebanon