In the year 1997, Manal Abdel Samad Najd began her service in the Lebanese Ministry of Finance,[3] in which she was involved in the implementation of a Value-added Tax (VAT) in Lebanon. A few years later, she was promoted to the Head of the Department of Tax Legislation and Policy at the Directorate of VAT.[4] Additionally, she was a lecturer at both the Saint Joseph University (USJ) and the American University of Beirut (AUB).[2]
In January 2020, she became the Minister of Information, after being proposed by the Prime Minister Dr. Hassan Diab as an independent candidate.[3] She was one of the six female ministers out of a total of 20 ministers in the Diab Government, an event that was regarded as a step in the right direction towards achieving gender equality in Lebanese politics.[5] In relation of the spark of the Coronavirus disease pandemic, many conspiracy theories started to circulate in the country, which she quickly addressed and countered by announcing a cooperation with World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme.[6] Then, Manal Abdel Samad Najd resigned her position on the 9th of August 2020, following the explosions in the port of Beirut which took place on August 4, 2020.[7] The next day, Dr. Hassan Diab announced the resignation of the government, and Manal Abdel Samad had been fulfilling the duties of the minister as a caretaker until a new successor is found.[8]
Manal Abdel-Samad was born on 28 March 1975. She is married to Youssef Najd and has three children with him: Carole, Rayan and Rami-Jo. She is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.[9] Manal Abdel-Samad is a Druze.[5]
