Lebanon names 1st female Arab minister in charge of security
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BEIRUT -- Lebanon's new interior minister assumed her post Wednesday, becoming her country's and the Arab world's first female official in charge of powerful security agencies.
Raya El Hassan welcomed the challenge, saying Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri put his trust in her and gave her "this big responsibility."
"As the first female minister of interior, I have to prove the woman's ability to assume an exceptional portfolio," she said at the handover ceremony from her predecessor who had been in the post for five years.
El Hassan, who holds a Masters' degree from George Washington University and is a member of Hariri's Future Movement Party, is one of four women in the 30-member Cabinet -- a record for female political representation in Lebanon.
