Syria politics
FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT
The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has made 11 changes to his cabinet, the most significant of which is the promotion of the long-serving foreign minister, Farouq al-Shara, to the post of vice-president. Most of the other changes involve second-tier posts, and appear to strengthen the hand of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Abdullah al-Dardari, who is identified with efforts to introduce market-based economic reforms.
Mr Shara has been replaced as foreign minister by his former deputy, Walid al-Muallim. The new minister is cast more in the mould of a traditional diplomat than Mr Shara, who has earned a reputation for abrasiveness. Mr Muallim is a former Syrian ambassador to Washington, and played a leading role in the abortive peace negotiations with Israel, which were hosted by the former US president, Bill Clinton in early 1998. Faisal Mekdad has been moved from the post of ambassador to the UN to that of deputy prime minister.
The UN commission on the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri accused Mr Shara of providing misleading written answers to question about crucial meetings between Mr Assad and the former Lebanese prime minister, who was killed, along with 22 others, in a bomb explosion in Beirut on February 14th 2005. The commission has also submitted a request to hold face-to-face interviews with both Mr Shara and Mr Assad to respond to allegations made by Abdel-Halim Khaddam, a former vice-president now living in exile. Mr Assad has stated that Syria's co-operation with the commission cannot be at the expense of national sovereignty, which has been taken as an indication that strict conditions must be attached to any such interviews. As vice-president, Mr Shara would appear to have been endowed with more substantial "sovereign" status than would have been the case were he to have remained a cabinet minister, albeit in one of the most senior positions. The post of vice-president became vacant after the Baath party congress in June 2005, when Zuhair Masharqa, stepped down.
Kenaan's shoes
The reshuffle has also afforded Mr Assad the opportunity to fill the vacancy left when Ghazi Kenaan, the interior minister, died of fatal gunshot wounds in his office late October, in what was officially described as suicide. Mr Kenaan had been head of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon for 20 years until 2002, and his death was evidently connected to the investigation into the Hariri killing. The new minister is Bassam Abdel-Majid, a military intelligence officer who has served as chief of the military police for the past three years.
Mr Assad has not made any changes to the other principal cabinet positions. Naji al-Otari, who was first appointed prime minister in 2003, remains in place, as does the ministers of finance (Mohammed Hussein) and defence (General Hassan Turkomani), as well as Mr Dardari, who was promoted to his current position after the Baath congress. Mehdi Dakhlallah, a former journalist who had sought to add some sparkle to the Syrian media during his tenure as information minister, has been replaced by Mohsen Bilal, a former diplomat.
New oil minister
There have been several departmental changes, including the appointment of new ministers of oil, electricity, telecommunications, industry, housing and construction and transport. The new oil minister is Sufyan Allow, who previously worked with Mr Dardari at the State Planning Commission. His predecessor, Ibrahim Haddad, has presided over a sharp decline in oil production, which has fallen below 400,000 barrels/day (b/d) from a peak of 600,000 b/d in the mid-1990s. Another former adviser to the State Planning Commission, Yacoub Suleiman Badr, has been appointed minister of transport. The new telecommunications minister, Amr Nazir Salem, was involved with Mr Assad in the establishment of the Syrian Computer Society in the 1990s.
The reshuffle follows the cabinet's recent approval of a five-year development plan, which aspires to achieve real annual GDP growth rates of 7% on average, based on liberalisation of the state-dominated Syrian economy and on attracting substantial amounts of foreign direct investment.
SOURCE: ViewsWire Middle East
The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has made 11 changes to his cabinet, the most significant of which is the promotion of the long-serving foreign minister, Farouq al-Shara, to the post of vice-president. Most of the other changes involve second-tier posts, and appear to strengthen the hand of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Abdullah al-Dardari, who is identified with efforts to introduce market-based economic reforms.
Mr Shara has been replaced as foreign minister by his former deputy, Walid al-Muallim. The new minister is cast more in the mould of a traditional diplomat than Mr Shara, who has earned a reputation for abrasiveness. Mr Muallim is a former Syrian ambassador to Washington, and played a leading role in the abortive peace negotiations with Israel, which were hosted by the former US president, Bill Clinton in early 1998. Faisal Mekdad has been moved from the post of ambassador to the UN to that of deputy prime minister.
The UN commission on the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri accused Mr Shara of providing misleading written answers to question about crucial meetings between Mr Assad and the former Lebanese prime minister, who was killed, along with 22 others, in a bomb explosion in Beirut on February 14th 2005. The commission has also submitted a request to hold face-to-face interviews with both Mr Shara and Mr Assad to respond to allegations made by Abdel-Halim Khaddam, a former vice-president now living in exile. Mr Assad has stated that Syria's co-operation with the commission cannot be at the expense of national sovereignty, which has been taken as an indication that strict conditions must be attached to any such interviews. As vice-president, Mr Shara would appear to have been endowed with more substantial "sovereign" status than would have been the case were he to have remained a cabinet minister, albeit in one of the most senior positions. The post of vice-president became vacant after the Baath party congress in June 2005, when Zuhair Masharqa, stepped down.
Kenaan's shoes
The reshuffle has also afforded Mr Assad the opportunity to fill the vacancy left when Ghazi Kenaan, the interior minister, died of fatal gunshot wounds in his office late October, in what was officially described as suicide. Mr Kenaan had been head of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon for 20 years until 2002, and his death was evidently connected to the investigation into the Hariri killing. The new minister is Bassam Abdel-Majid, a military intelligence officer who has served as chief of the military police for the past three years.
Mr Assad has not made any changes to the other principal cabinet positions. Naji al-Otari, who was first appointed prime minister in 2003, remains in place, as does the ministers of finance (Mohammed Hussein) and defence (General Hassan Turkomani), as well as Mr Dardari, who was promoted to his current position after the Baath congress. Mehdi Dakhlallah, a former journalist who had sought to add some sparkle to the Syrian media during his tenure as information minister, has been replaced by Mohsen Bilal, a former diplomat.
New oil minister
There have been several departmental changes, including the appointment of new ministers of oil, electricity, telecommunications, industry, housing and construction and transport. The new oil minister is Sufyan Allow, who previously worked with Mr Dardari at the State Planning Commission. His predecessor, Ibrahim Haddad, has presided over a sharp decline in oil production, which has fallen below 400,000 barrels/day (b/d) from a peak of 600,000 b/d in the mid-1990s. Another former adviser to the State Planning Commission, Yacoub Suleiman Badr, has been appointed minister of transport. The new telecommunications minister, Amr Nazir Salem, was involved with Mr Assad in the establishment of the Syrian Computer Society in the 1990s.
The reshuffle follows the cabinet's recent approval of a five-year development plan, which aspires to achieve real annual GDP growth rates of 7% on average, based on liberalisation of the state-dominated Syrian economy and on attracting substantial amounts of foreign direct investment.
SOURCE: ViewsWire Middle East
posted by Marko at 2/15/2006 09:15:00 AM
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