Zeina Akar Becomes First Female Defense Minister In Lebanon's History

BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2020) Zeina Akar has become the first female Minister of Defense in Lebanon, where the presidency announced the formation of a new cabinet on Tuesday, amid nationwide anti-government protests.

Zeina Akar will also serve as Lebanon's Deputy Prime Minister. The country's new cabinet includes a total of five women. The number of ministers has been reduced to 20.

There were 30 ministers in Saad Hariri's government, which resigned in late October of last year, amid large-scale anti-government protests triggered by an economic crisis.

After Hariri's government resigned, Lebanese President Michel Aoun appointed Hassan Diab, a 60-year-old professor at the American University of Beirut, as the new prime minister and tasked him with forming a new cabinet.

Diab's nomination at the end of last year was met with new protests, with some of the major political parties refusing to be part of the new government.