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Monday 6 August 2012

Syrian Premier Riad Hijab defects

Riad Hijab

Authoritative Tweep @THE_47th reports that Syria's Prime Minister Riad Farid Hijab has defected to Jordan.
President Bashar al-Assad named Hijab prime minister in early June, a month after parliamentary elections in Syria, which were boycotted by the opposition.
BBC News published his biography highlights on June 6:
  • Born in 1966 in Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria
  • Married, with four children
  • Holds a PhD in agriculture
  • Joined the local branch of the Ba'ath Party command in 1998
  • Named governor of the southern province of Quneitra in 2008
  • Transferred to head the Latakia governorate around the time protests were first reported - credited in state media with negotiating an end to a sit-in
  • Appointed minister of agriculture on 14 April 2011.