Syria Today | Syrian cabinet reshuffle, new environment ministry established

Syrian cabinet reshuffle, new environment ministry established

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appointed six new ministers to the cabinet on April 23, including the interior and justice. The cabinet reshuffle also saw the creation of a separate environment ministry headed by a woman.

The shake-up, announced via Syria’s state news agency SANA, was the sixth since the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri was formed in 2003. The last changes occurred in September 2008, when the housing and electricity ministers were replaced.

A decree issued by President Assad saw senior intelligence officer Saeed Sammur named as interior minister, replacing General Bassam Abdel Majid, a former military police chief who entered the government in February 2006. SANA did not give any more details about Sammur, except that he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in both English Literature and Weather Technical Science from the University of Damascus.

The Ministry of Justice is also in new hands, with judge Ahmad Yunis replacing Mohammed Ghafri. Yunis has served as the head of the Censoring and Inspection Central Corporation since 1997. Before this he was head of the country’s Economic Security Court.

Presidential Affairs Minister Ghassan Laham left the cabinet, replaced by Mansur Azzam, the secretary general for presidential affairs since 2008. Before this, Azzam served as deputy director of presidential protocol from 2003 to 2008. He has also held several positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ophthalmologist Rida Saeed has replaced Maher Hussami as health minister. Saeed is the deputy president of the Arab Board of Ophthalmology and head of the Arab Scientific Council of Ophthalmology. In 2007, he was appointed as director of the Syrian eye bank. Between 1998 and 2007, Saeed also served as the head of the Ophthalmology Hospital in Damascus.

The Ministry of Local Administration and Environment, previously headed by Hilal al-Atrash, was split in two and a dedicated Ministry of Environment created. Kawkab al-Sabah Dayeh will serve as Syria’s first environment minister. She has previously headed the office of environmental and health issues at the Syrian Women’s Federation. In 1993, Dayeh served as deputy health minister.

Tamer al-Hijeh, a former governor of Aleppo and Damascus suburbs, was appointed to the new Ministry of Local Affairs. Hijeh has also served as the Ba’ath Party secretary for the Homs branch, and headed the city’s council between 2000 and 2004.