Syria reshuffles cabinet, names new Quneitra governor

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa enacted a series of ministerial and local government changes on Saturday, appointing Khaled Fawwaz Zaarour as information minister, Basel Hafez al-Suwaidan as agriculture minister, and Ghassan Elias Ahmed as governor of Quneitra province. The decrees were reported by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Zaarour, born in 1990, holds a doctorate in digital media from the Lebanese University (2019) and a master’s degree in media institution evaluation and development from the same institution (2014). He served as dean of the Faculty of Media at Damascus University in 2025, according to SANA.

Al-Suwaidan, born in 1984, earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Damascus University in 2008. His previous roles include deputy agriculture minister and assistant minister for administrative and financial affairs. SANA also reported that he managed the agriculture and livestock sector at the sovereign wealth fund, chairs the anti-illegal-gain committee, and sits on the import-export committee.

Separately, President al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 98 of 2026 appointing Abdulrahman Badr al-Din al-Aama as secretary-general of the presidency. Al-Aama, born in 1987, holds a master’s in business administration from the University of the People and a diploma in human resources management from the American Institute for Business and Development. His previous posts include governor of Homs (2024–2026), director of the Central Planning Authority (2023–2024), director of the humanitarian coordination office in northern Syria (2022–2023), minister of development and humanitarian affairs in the Syrian Salvation Government (2018–2021), and assistant minister of social affairs and labor in the same government (2017–2018).

Decree No. 102 of 2026 appointed Ghassan Elias al-Sayed Ahmed as governor of Quneitra. Born in 1978, Ahmed holds a master’s in international law and a diploma in criminal sciences (2020). He had served as governor of Deir ez-Zor since March 2025, SANA noted.