Sahar Baassiri, also spelled Baasiri (; born 1960s) is a Lebanese diplomat and journalist currently serving as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Lebanon to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in Paris. Ms. Baassiri worked for the leading Lebanese daily

An-Nahar ''An-Nahar'' () is a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper published in Lebanon. In the 1980s, ''An-Nahar'' was described by ''The'' ''New York Times'' and ''Time Magazine'' as the newspaper of record for the entire Arab world. History and p ...

newspaper between 1981 and 2009. In 1993, she became the first female foreign editor at a Lebanese daily newspapers. And was the first woman in the Arab world to write a front-page column in a daily paper. She was also the

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

(UPI), Beirut correspondent between 1989 and 1991. She is the author of two books (in Arabic): ″Lebanon on Hold and ″The Wandering Arabs, both published in 2009 by Dar An-Nahar. Ms. Baassiri earned her BA in Political Science from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

and an MS in Journalism from

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

. After the appointment of her spouse,

Nawaf Salam Nawaf Abdallah Salim Salam (; born 15 December 1953) is a Lebanese politician, diplomat, jurist and academic who has been serving as the 53rd prime minister of Lebanon since 8 February 2025. Salam previously sat on the International Court of Ju ...

as prime minister of Lebanon on 8 February 2025, she became Second Lady of Lebanon, serving as co-director of the National Council of Lebanese Women alongside the

First Lady of Lebanon The First Lady of Lebanon is the title attributed to the wife of the President of Lebanon. The First Lady of Lebanon serves as the director of the National Council of Lebanese Women, alongside the spouses of the Prime Minister of Lebanon and th ...

Nehmat Aoun Nehmat Aoun (), also transcribed as Neemat or Naamat, is the First Lady of Lebanon, having served as such since her husband, Joseph Aoun, was elected President of Lebanon on 9 January 2025. Early and personal life Nehmat Aoun was born in Shiyya ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baassiri, Sahar Lebanese expatriates in the United States Lebanese women journalists Lebanese journalists Date of birth missing (living people) Living people American University of Beirut alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni 21st-century Lebanese women writers 21st-century Lebanese writers Lebanese newspaper editors Lebanese women editors Women newspaper editors