Zahia Benarous
Zahia Benarous | |
|---|---|
زهية بن عروس | |
| Senator of the Council of the Nation | |
| President | Abdelaziz Bouteflika |
| Secretary of State for Culture | |
| In office 1997–1999 | |
| President | Liamine Zéroual |
| Prime Minister | Ahmed Ouyahia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 June 1958 M'Sila, Algeria |
| Education | Jugurtha Elementary School Omar Rasem Intermediate |
| Alma mater | University of Algiers 1 |
Zahia Benarous (born 10 June 1958) is an Algerian journalist and politician. She was a presenter on Public Establishment of Television's 8pm news, was elected as a Member of the Parliament of Algeria in 1997 and then was appointed to two terms as senator of the upper house of the Algerian Senate.
Biography
Benarous was born on 10 June 1958 in M'Sila, Algeria. She was educated at the Jugurtha Elementary School and the Omar Rasem Intermediate in Algiers. She then studied a bachelor's degree in social sciences at the University of Algiers 1.
Benarous worked as a television presenter on Public Establishment of Television's 8pm news from 1988,[1] and was the first woman to present in Arabic.[2] In 2017, Benarous suggested that Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi proposed marriage to her in 1995 after seeing her on television, despite how they had not met.[3][4]
Benarous was elected as a Member of the Parliament of Algeria in 1997 as a member of the centre-right Democratic National Rally (NDA) party. She was appointed as Secretary of State for Culture, in Ahmed Ouyahia's second government in June 1997.[5][6][7] She served until 1999,[8] then was appointed to two terms as senator of the upper house of the Algerian Senate (known as the Conseil de la Nation) by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.[6]
In 2006, Benarous was elected to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.[9][10]
In 2021, the National Independent Electoral Authority (ANIE) of Algeria rejected Benarous' candidacy for the El Houkm Errached (Wise Governance) party as contradictory to new electoral law (Article 200) which prohibits candidacies for individuals who have already served two consecutive or non-consecutive parliamentary terms.[6][11][12]
References
- ^ "Les femmes algériennes qui ont imposé leur présence dans les médias". DIA (in French). 12 March 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ "Les journalistes face aux défis de l'heure" (in French). 3 May 2025.
- ^ "Algerian MP: Qaddafi wanted to marry me in 90s". Al Arabiya English. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ "Gaddafi wanted to marry me in 90s: Algerian MP". The Daily Star. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ "Djazairess : Des femmes dans le gouvernement Benflis?". djazairess (in French). Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ a b c "L'Expression: De Quoi j'me Mêle - Zahia Benarous écartée de la course des législatives?". L'Expression (in French). Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ Martin, Mart (2000). The almanac of women and minorities in world politics. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8133-6805-4.
- ^ "Algeria Ministers". guide2womenleaders.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ "Communiqué de presse No.8". archives.ipu.org. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics) (30 July 2013). Zahia Benarous, Member of the National Assembly of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. Archived from the original on 5 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Législatives du 12 juin : la candidature de Zahia Benarous rejetée par l'ANIE". Algerie 1 (in French). 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Législatives: La candidature de Zahia Benarous rejetée". L'Express Algérie (in French). 9 June 2021. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2025.