Muhammad Mustafa Mero

Muhammad Mustafa Mero
محمد مصطفى ميرو
Prime Minister of Syria
In office
7 March 2000 – 10 September 2003
President Hafez al-Assad
Abdul Halim Khaddam (interim)
Bashar al-Assad
Deputy Mohammad Al Hussein
Muhammad Naji al-Otari
Mustafa Tlass
Farouk al-Sharaa
Preceded by Mahmoud Zuabi
Succeeded by Muhammad Naji al-Otari
Member of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch
In office
21 June 2000 – 9 June 2005
Personal details
Born 1941 (age 74–75)
Al Tall, Syria
Political party Syrian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party
Other political
affiliations		 National Progressive Front
Alma mater Damascus University
University of Moscow
Religion Sunni Islam

Muhammad Mustafa Mero (Arabic: محمد مصطفى ميرو‎‎) (born 1941) is a former Prime Minister of Syria who was in office from 7 March 2000 to 10 September 2003.

Early life and education

Mero was born into a Sunni rural family in Al Tall in the outskirts of Damascus in 1941.[1][2][3][4]

He attended Damascus University.[1] Later he acquired a PhD in Arabic language and literature from the University of Moscow.[4]

Career

Mero became a member of the Ba'ath Party in1966.[4] He joined the Arab Teachers' Union becoming its secretary general for cultural affairs and publications. He served as governor of the Daraa province from 1980 to 1986.[4] He was appointed governor of the Al Hasakah province in 1986 and served in the post until 1993.[4] In 1993, he became governor of the Aleppo province and was in office until 2000.[4][5] Despite regional tensions between Syria and Turkey at the time, he was said to have enjoyed good relations with the Turkish government and was integral in dealings between the two governments.[6] In June 2000, he became a leading figure in the Baath party.[1]

On 7 March 2000, shortly before the death of President Hafez al-Assad, Mero was appointed as prime minister.[7][8] Mero replaced Mahmoud Zuabi, who had been in office since 1987, as prime minister.[9] Mero's cabinet was announced on 13 March 2000, and was tasked with tackling economic reforms and combatting corruption.[10] After the death of Assad in 2000, a 9-member committee was formed to oversee the transition period, and Mero was among its members.[11]

He was retained by the new president, Bashar Assad, and was promoted within the ranks of the ruling Baath Party. Mero headed a ministerial and commercial delegation to neighboring Iraq in August 2001, becoming the first Syrian prime minister to visit the country since the Gulf War.[10] In December 2001, in an effort to stimulate economic reform, Mero was charged with forming a new cabinet,[6] which saw extensive reorganization with several "pro-reform" ministers appointed to strategic portfolios related to the economy.[10] His premiership also oversaw improving ties with Turkey. In July 2003, Mero became the first Syrian prime minister to visit Turkey in 17 years, where he signed three agreements on health, oil and natural gas, and customs matters.[12] Mero resigned form office in early September 2003, reportedly due to the stagnation of the process of economic reform.[10] Then Parliament speaker Mohammed Naji Al Otari replaced him as prime minister.[7] Mero continued his political career as a member of the central committee of the Ba'ath Party.[13] His term ended in June 2005, and he retired from politics.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "On the new Syrian government". Arabic News. 12 December 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Syria Primer" (PDF). Virtual Information Center. 24 April 2003. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Robert G. Rabil (2006). Syria, The United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-275-99015-2. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zisser, Eyal (September 2000). "Will Bashshar al-Asad Rule?". The Middle East Quarterly. VII (3): 3–12. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Syria: A commitment to change". Euromoney. July 2001. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  6. 1 2 East, Roger; Thomas, Richard (2003). Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders. Routledge. p. 505. ISBN 1-85743-126-X.
  7. 1 2 "Syria appoints new prime minister". BBC. 10 September 2003. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Political Chronology of the Middle East. Routledge. 12 October 2012. p. 2038. ISBN 978-1-135-35673-6. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  9. ↑ The Middle East and North Africa 2003. Europa Publications. 2003. p. 1019. ISBN 978-1-85743-132-2. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Europa World Year Book 2. Taylor & Francis. 2004. pp. 4057–4061. ISBN 1-85743-255-X.
  11. ↑ "Bashar Aims to Consolidate Power in the Short-Term and to Open up Gradually". APS Diplomat News Service. 19 June 2000. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  12. ↑ Bal, İdris (2004). Turkish Foreign Policy in Post Cold War Era. Universal Publishers. p. 369. ISBN 1-58112-423-6.
  13. ↑ Moubayed, Sami (26 May – 1 June 2005). "The faint smell of jasmine". Al Ahram Weekly. 744. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  14. ↑ Moubayed, Sami (July 2005). "Syria: Reform or Repair?" (PDF). Arab Reform Bulletin. 3 (6). Retrieved 8 March 2013.
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