Sonia Mbarek

Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation
Tunisia

Sonia Mbarek has been Tunisia’s Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation since January. Educated at University of Tunis’ Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, she gained a Bachelor Degree in Public Law, and an Advanced Diploma in political sciences and was a member of the Faculty’s research laboratory (culture and society). Currently, she is preparing a doctorate in political science. She also has a diploma in Arab music and directed the International Carthage Festival in 2014 and 2015, the first woman and Tunisan to do so. As well as her role as Ambassador for Tunisian tourism in 2014, she advised ‘Al Bustan Seeds of Culture’, an NGO that promotes Arab culture in the USA.

As an assistant teacher at the Higher Institute for Musical Sciences of Tunis she specialized in authorship rights, projects and technical contracts. She is also a leading expert in Arabic and Andalusian singing techniques and has organized many master classes and lectures throughout the Arab world, Europe and USA. She served as President and Director of the Tunisian Music Festival from 2005 to 2008. She has been goodwill Ambassador for the Tunisian Association for Cancer Control and member
of the Tunisian Observatory for democratic transition.