Nasser Yassin, PhD
Professor, Senior Adviser, and Former Minister in Lebanon
Dr. Nasser Yassin is a professor and senior policy advisor specializing in policy, planning, and strategy. He has taught at premier institutions such as the American University of Beirut, Qatar University and Duke University’s CE. He has also led the policy institute (Issam Fares Institute) of the American University of Beirut and founded several research and policy initiatives.
Dr. Yassin served as Lebanon’s Minister of Environment from September 2021 to February 2025, where he led a comprehensive reform agenda aimed at enhancing environmental policy, strengthening governance, and fostering community participation amid Lebanon’s complex crises since 2019. In October 2023, during the Gaza War and subsequent hostilities in South Lebanon, he was appointed by the Lebanese Council of Ministers to lead and coordinate the National Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan. In this critical role, he managed inter-ministerial coordination with UN agencies and humanitarian organizations during one of the most challenging humanitarian emergencies in Lebanon’s recent history, assisting over one million displaced individuals.
Dr. Yassin has provided expert policy advice to several UN agencies and governments on national strategies, policy reforms and crisis & refugee response across the Middle East, with a particular focus on Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and the GCC.
His scholarly contributions include more than 60 internationally recognized publications - encompassing two books, peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, policy papers, and reports — while his research and work have been featured in major global media outlets such as Al Jazeera, BBC, Bloomberg, The Economist, The New York Times, The National, and Deutsche Welle