Randa Habib

Randa Habib, a French journalist of Lebanese origin, has spent twenty-five years covering war, politics and economic development in the Middle East. Director of the Amman bureau of Agence France Presse since 1987, she has reported extensively from Iraq and other areas of conflict and interviewed royalty and leaders throughout the region. Habib was the first to interview King Abdullah when he ascended the throne. She also broke the story that it would be Abdullah, King Hussein’s son, who would succeed him, and not Hussein’s brother, Crown Prince Hassan.

She was awarded the ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite’ in 2001 by President Jacques Chirac and the ‘Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur’ in 2008 by President Nicolas Sarkozy.