A British-Lebanese citizen, Dakhlallah will make history today as NATO’s first spokesperson from the region, which could boost the alliance’s outreach to the Arab-speaking world.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement this week, marking the first time a woman of Arab descent will serve in the position. Dakhlallah brings years of experience in international organizations to the post and could help the alliance in its outreach to the Arabic-speaking world.
Dakhlallah is replacing Oana Lungescu, who served in the position since 2010, according to NATO.
Dakhlallah, 40, is originally from Lebanon but also holds British citizenship. She studied at Saint Joseph University of Beirut before attending the London School of Economics and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, according to a 2016 interview with the London-based organization Women in Foreign Policy.
She worked for the UK Foreign Office from 2014 to 2016, serving as an Arabic-language spokesperson. In this capacity, Dakhlallah gave interviews to regional media on the conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Ukraine, as well as on the Iran nuclear issue and other topics.
In the years that followed, Dakhlallah served in communications positions for two United Nations organizations before becoming communications manager for the World Health Organization in 2017, a position she held until 2021. Most recently, she served as Middle East media relations director for AstraZeneca from 2022 until December of last year, according to her LinkedIn profile.
