Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at a prayer commemorating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in Damascus on Sept. 15, 2024. (Credit: Photo released by the official Syrian news agency (SANA) via AFP)
Two months after the Syrian Baath Party’s landslide victory in the parliamentary elections — expected in the government-held areas — President Bashar al-Assad tasked Mohammed Ghazi Jalali on Sept. 14 to form a new government. This came at a time when the country, beset by multiple crises, has been de facto dragged into the Gaza war. Born in Damascus in 1969 and hailing from the Golan Heights (occupied by Israel), the new prime minister previously held several government positions, including communications minister from 2014 to 2016. Like his predecessor, Jalali has been subject to EU sanctions since 2014 for sharing, as a former member of the government, “responsibility for the Syrian regime’s violent repression of the civilian population,” following the 2011 popular uprising. This nomination is controversial, and far from meeting the...
Two months after the Syrian Baath Party’s landslide victory in the parliamentary elections — expected in the government-held areas — President Bashar al-Assad tasked Mohammed Ghazi Jalali on Sept. 14 to form a new government. This came at a time when the country, beset by multiple crises, has been de facto dragged into the Gaza war. Born in Damascus in 1969 and hailing from the Golan Heights (occupied by Israel), the new prime minister previously held several government positions, including communications minister from 2014 to 2016. Like his predecessor, Jalali has been subject to EU sanctions since 2014 for sharing, as a former member of the government, “responsibility for the Syrian regime’s violent repression of the civilian population,” following the 2011 popular uprising. This nomination is controversial, and far from...