Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara has appointed a new central bank governor, in a move aimed at restoring confidence shaken by currency fluctuations that have persisted since the Assad regime was overthrown.
Mr Al Shara has appointed someone who is not affiliated directly with Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the group that the president leads and led the rapid rebel advance that toppled Bashar Al Assad in December.
Abdul Qadir Al Hasriya, who took the oath as the new bank chief in front of Mr Al Shara, does not have hands-on banking experience but has worked in finance-related jobs as a consultant for various international groups.
His appointment came as Mr Al Shara on Monday led a cabinet meeting to “discuss government priorities for the next phase”. HTS is eager to show it can lead an economic recovery and integrate Syria in the international financial system, which would help legitimise its rule.
The new governor faces a daunting task. The economy has shown no signs of emerging from the collapse that followed the outbreak of civil war in 2011. The Syrian pound has lost about 90 per cent of its value since the start of the civil war, sinking from 50 pounds to currently around 10,000-12,000 to the US dollar.
Since Mr Al Assad's father Hafez Al Assad took charge of Syria in 1970, the country has had major economic and financial setbacks, largely because of the adoption of common economy and expropriation policies that turned Syria into an economic backwater.
Bashar Al Assad ushered in economic liberalisation soon after he inherited power in 2000 but the benefits mostly went to those who became oligarchs and who often used frontmen and junior partners to mask their monopolies.
Mr Al Hasriya takes over from Maysa Sabreen, who had been appointed caretaker governor in late December. Mr Al Hasriya was born in 1961 and previously lived between the UAE and Syria. He studied at the American University of Beirut before completing his PhD in finance at the University of Durham in the UK.
He previously worked for accountancy firms EY and Arthur Andersen and was also a member of the financial committee of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva.
He was also a consultant on reforms to Syria's central bank in co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme.
