Two Armenian ministers in new Lebanese cabinet

By Asbarez | Tuesday, 20 December 2016

Avedis Gidanian of the ARF Appointed State Minister of Tourism

BEIRUT, Lebanon (Armenian Weekly)—The formation of a new Lebanese government—which will be headed by Saad Hariri—was announced on December 18, which includes two members of the Lebanese-Armenian community.

Armenians Avedis Gidanian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and former Minister of State for Administrative Development Jean Oghassabian are a part of the new Cabinet, according to Armenia’s Hay Dzayn news outlet. Gidanian was appointed State Minister of Tourism, while Oghassabian will likely head the newly-created State Ministry for Women’s Affairs.

The four key ministerial portfolios—the Finance Minister, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and the Interior Ministry—were given to Ali Hasan Khalil, Gebran Bassil, Yaacoub Sarraf, and Nouhad Machnouk, respectively, according to Lebanon’s The Daily Star newspaper.

Hariri described his Cabinet as a national consensus government, underlining that it will “exert efforts during its short-term,” which will not exceed few months. “Its first mission will be to reach with the Parliament a new electoral law that abides by proportional representation and the right representation,” said Hariri, as reported by the Daily Star.

The Cabinet includes 22 newcomers and only one woman. Along with the State Ministry for Women’s Affairs, four other new ministries have also been established: State Ministry for Refugees Affairs, State Ministry to Combat Terrorism, State Ministry for Presidential Affairs, and State Ministry for Human Rights.


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