Muhammad Mustafa Mero

Muhammad Mustafa Mero محمد مصطفى ميرو
Prime Minister of Syria
In office 13 March 2000 – 10 September 2003
President	Hafez al-Assad Bashar al-Assad
Deputy	Muhammed al-Hussein Muhammad Naji al-Otari Mustafa Tlass Farouk al-Sharaa
Preceded by	Mahmoud Zuabi
Succeeded by	Muhammad Naji al-Otari
Personal details
Born	1941 (age 69–70) Al-Tall, Syria
Political party	Baath Party
Religion	Islam

Muhammad Mustafa Mero (Arabic: محمد مصطفى ميرو‎) (born Al-Tall, 1941) is a former Prime Minister of Syria who held the post between 2000 and 2003.

Early life, education and career

Mero attended Damascus University and attained a Ph.D. in Arabic literature and humanitarian sciences. He joined the Arab Teachers' Union becoming its secretary general for cultural affairs and publications. His earliest official appointment was in 1980 as mayor of Daraa, a small city on Syria's southern borders with Jordan. In 1986 Mero was appointed as mayor of al-Hasakah in northeast Syria, where he served for seven years. He was promoted to become governor of Aleppo Governorate, which borders Turkey to the north and holds Syria's second-biggest city Aleppo. 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.^[1]

Prime minister

In March 2000, shortly before the death of President Hafez al-Assad, Mero was appointed as prime minister. His cabinet was announced on 13 March 2000, and was tasked with tackling economic reforms and combatting corruption.^[2] After the death of President Hafez al-Assad, he was retained by the new president, Bashar al-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.^[2] In December 2001, in an effort to stimulate economic reform, Mero was charged with forming a new cabinet,^[1] which saw extensive reorganization with several "pro-reform" ministers appointed to strategic portfolios related to the economy.^[2] 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.^[3] Mero resigned his post in early September 2003, reportedly due to the stagnation of the process of economic reform.^[2]

See also

• Cabinet of Syria (2001-2003)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} East, Roger; Thomas, Richard (2003). Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders. Routledge. p. 505. ISBN 185743126X. http://books.google.com/books?id=Mz-fXRsedPMC&pg=PA505&dq=Mustafa+Miro&hl=en&ei=qudXTf_FKoW4vgPnm9XKBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Mustafa%20Miro&f=false. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Taylor & Francis Group (2004). Europa World Year Book 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 4057–4061. ISBN 185743255X. http://books.google.com/books?id=gP_-8rXzQs8C&pg=PA4056&dq=%22Mustafa+Mero%22&hl=en&ei=meZXTZXcIYzSuwPrsezgBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=%22Mero%22&f=false. 
3. ^ Bal, İdris (2004). Turkish Foreign Policy in Post Cold War Era. Universal-Publishers. p. 369. ISBN 1581124236. http://books.google.com/books?id=vDzjkrTDKjYC&pg=PA369&dq=Mustafa+Miro&hl=en&ei=qudXTf_FKoW4vgPnm9XKBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Mustafa%20Miro&f=false. 

Persondata
Name	Mero, Muhammad Mustafa
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1941
Place of birth	Al-Tall, Syria
Date of death
Place of death