Some people are excited by the number of women in this new Government (6 out of 20). Some may even say, men or women, these are new faces; at least with expertise in their fields.
More specifically, one can think: Wow, kudos to Lebanon for nominating a woman as the Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister. Well, Bambi did not think so. She was rather curious to see whom got this position. She found her bio online, which reads as follows ( https://information-international.com/page/37/founders):
“Mrs. Zeina Adra has more than 20 years of practical, management and research experience. As a Partner and Executive Director for Information International, Ms. Adra leads the Beirut-based research and consultancy firm in survey research, database collection and analysis of projects for the Arab World and the Near East in the areas of health, education, agriculture, infrastructure facilities and demographic and socio-economic studies (including project evaluation and impact assessment).
In addition to working with Information International, Mrs. Adra is Founder and Program Director of the Social and Cultural Development Association (INMA), a non-profit, non-governmental organization that services clusters of villages and specific neighborhoods throughout Lebanon. For INMA, Mrs. Adra directs national, sustainable projects in tourism and agriculture that focus on health, education, environment, cultural and income generating activities.
Mrs. Adra has significant experience working on international development and donor-funded projects, through which she has conducted needs assessment, reviews of literature, qualitative and quantitative studies, structured questionnaires for surveys based on random sampling, field visits, training and supervising of field surveyors, analysis of data and preparation of reports. She has also established and maintained close contacts with international donors, NGOs and UN agencies, local banks, financial institutions, auditors and Government of Lebanon ministries and local municipalities, which provide her with the ability to coordinate and meet with key stakeholders and city officials throughout Lebanon.
Mrs. Adra has participated in trainings at a number of workshops and symposiums, including (but not limited to) the Credit-Finance Workshop in Amman, Jordan, the International NGO Working Group on Refugee Women in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, the Micro-enterprise Credit Workshop in Beirut, Lebanon, the Food Commodity Workshop for USAID-Washington in Washington DC/Idaho and the Management/Strategic Planning Workshop in Cairo, Egypt. Mrs. Adra has also participated in numerous tourism and agricultural exhibitions in Lebanon and abroad including New York Fancy Food Show, ANUGA, Horeca, Garden Show and others.
Mrs. Adra holds a BS degree in Social Sciences in Marketing/Management from the Lebanese American University (formerly known as Beirut University College)”.
End of the biography. Bravo to Ms. Adra for her interesting professional journey.
However, with all due respect to her professional skills and/or potential to learn, her training and expertise has NOTHING to do with “defence” :). So, why was she nominated for such a key and prestigious position, along with the role of deputy Prime Minister?
Could it be for ties to the President of the country, to the Prime Minister maybe, and… thus indirectly (or directly?) to the Hezbollah?
Mind you, with her professional background, she could have perhaps contributed to another ministry, no?
Anyhow, maybe Bambi is wrong in her non-expert analysis. Maybe this lady will excel in her job, if we give her and Lebanon a chance?
Best wishes!
