Randa Habib is a French journalist of Lebanese origin, who as director of the Amman, Jordan, bureau of Agence France-Presse (AFP), one of the three global news agencies, since 1987, has spent 25 years covering war, politics and economic development in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. She has reported extensively in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and other areas of conflict and interviewed royalty and leaders throughout the region. Habib has been named director for the Middle East and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

for the AFP Foundation as of 1 April 2012.

Early life and education

Habib was born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, to Farid Habib and Hind Tammer. Her father was Lebanon's former ambassador to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and Iraq. Habib earned her high school diploma in Rio de Janeiro, before receiving a bachelor's degree in Administrative and Political studies at the Saint Joseph University in Beirut.

Career

While at university, Habib worked at the Lebanese weekly "Magazine" before joining AFP in 1980 and becoming its bureau chief in Amman in 1987. She was also

Radio Monte Carlo Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) is the name of radio stations owned and managed by several different entities: *RMC (France) is a French language, French-speaking station, broadcasting in France and Monaco owned by NextRadioTV. **RMC Sport, a French bou ...

correspondent from 1988 to 2005. In 1996, Habib founded the first Foreign Press Club in Jordan. She interviewed Jordan's late

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family o ...

more than 20 times, and was granted the first interview with his son

King Abdullah II Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of ...

in 1999, less than three weeks after he took power. Habib is on the board of directors of the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), a non-profit organization that seeks to help enhance journalism in the Middle East. From 1980s to February 2011 she had a column in ''

Jordan Times ''The Jordan Times'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Amman, Jordan. History Established in 1975, ''The Jordan Times'' is owned by the Jordan Press Foundation, a shareholding company which also runs the Arabic-language daily '' ...

''. Also until June 2011, she had a column in ''

Ammon News ''Ammon '' (in Arabic عمون) also known as ''Ammon News'' is a private news agency and alternative news body based in Amman, Jordan. It is the first online newspaper in the country. The agency has both Arabic and English language websites. T ...

''. In 2012, AFP Foundation, a non-profit-making organization set up by AFP to provide training to journalists in developing countries, appointed Habib as its director for the Middle-East and North Africa.

Awards

In 2001, Habib was awarded by the French president the decoration of "Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Merite". And in July 2008, she was awarded the highest decoration in France, the “Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur” (French: "National Order of the Legion of Honour").

Books

Habib is the author of book "Hussein and Abdullah: inside the Jordanian Royal family," which was printed in London in January 2010. The book's French version was published in November 2007 and Arabic in August 2008.

Family

Habib is married to business consultant Adnan Gharaybeh and the couple has two children, Saif and Yara.

References

* https://www.amazon.com/Hussein-Abdullah-Inside-Jordanian-Family/dp/0863566847 {{DEFAULTSORT:Habib, Randa French journalists Agence France-Presse journalists French people of Lebanese descent Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Saint Joseph University alumni