Riyad Farid Hijab
Riyad Farid Hijab | |
|---|---|
| رياض فريد حجاب | |
Hijab at the 2016 Munich Security Conference | |
| Prime Minister of Syria | |
| In office 23 June 2012 – 6 August 2012 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Preceded by | Adel Safar |
| Succeeded by | Omar Ibrahim Ghalawanji (Acting) |
| General Coordinator of the High Negotiations Committee | |
| In office 17 December 2015 – 20 November 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Naser al-Hariri |
| Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform | |
| In office 14 April 2011 – 6 August 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | Adel Safar |
| Preceded by | Adel Safar |
| Succeeded by | Subhi Ahmad al-Abdullah |
| Governor of Latakia | |
| In office 22 February 2011 – 14 April 2011 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Preceded by | Khalil Mashhadia |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Qader Abdul Sheikh |
| Governor of Quneitra | |
| In office 2008–2011 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Riyad Farid Hijab 1966 (age 59–60) |
| Party | Independent (since 2012) Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (before 2012) |
| Other political affiliations | Syrian National Coalition (2012–2014) National Progressive Front (before 2012) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Damascus University (PhD) |
| Occupation |
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Riyad Farid Hijab (born 1966) is a Syrian politician and engineer who served as Prime Minister of Syria from June to August 2012 under President Bashar al-Assad. He previously served as Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform from 2011 to 2012.
On 6 August 2012, the Government of Syria announced that Hijab had been dismissed from office. Shortly thereafter, a man identifying himself as Hijab’s spokesman, along with multiple media outlets, confirmed that Hijab had defected to the Syrian opposition amid the ongoing civil war. With the assistance of the Free Syrian Army, he escaped to Jordan along with 45 members of his extended family. Following his defection, Hijab became a senior figure in the exiled opposition and served as General Coordinator of the High Negotiations Committee from 2015 to 2017.