President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday appointed a new prime minister to form a government after parliamentary elections held in July, the Syrian presidency reported.
Hussein Arnous, former Minister of Water Resources, was appointed head of government under a presidential decree published by the official media.
An appointment in the midst of an acute economic crisis
The latter had already assumed this function on a temporary basis until the legislative elections of July 19, after the dismissal in June of the former Prime Minister Imad Khamis, against the backdrop of the worsening economic crisis.
Like his predecessor, the new prime minister has been subject for several years to sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union against the Assad regime.
His appointment comes amid an acute economic crisis and an unprecedented depreciation of the Syrian currency, which has caused a dizzying rise in prices across the country, and prompted certain businesses to go out of business.
A new set of US sanctions
The next government will also have to face a new set of American sanctions that came into force in June, under the name of the “Caesar” law, which sanctions any entity collaborating with Damascus, as well as businessmen and key figures of the government. diet.
Originally from the city of Maarat al-Noumane in the province of Idleb, Hussein Arnous graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Aleppo. Aged 67, he has already held several ministerial positions.
The economic crisis in Syria, torn by a war that has lasted since 2011, has been amplified by the containment measures adopted in the face of Covid-19, but also by the economic sinking in neighboring Lebanon, affected by a shortage of dollars and a historic plunge of its national currency.
The Baath Party, in power in Syria, and its allies won the majority of the 250 seats in the National Assembly in the last legislative elections.
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