Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa reshuffled several top government posts on May 9 and removed his brother from a key position that had drawn accusations of nepotism as his administration struggles to unite a divided nation after a brutal civil war.
Sharaa’s brother, Maher al-Sharaa, had served as secretary-general to the presidency in Damascus. His initial appointment last year had triggered parallels with the practices under Syria’s former President Bashar al-Assad and his father and predecessor, Hafez Assad.
In a decree, the president appointed Abdul Rahman Badreddine al-Aama — previously the governor of Homs province, as his brother’s replacement, state news agency SANA reported.
It was not immediately clear what position, if any, Maher al-Sharaa would hold going forward. He is a physician who had also previously served as Syria’s interim health minister.
The Syrian leader also appointed new governors for Homs, Latakia, Deir el-Zour and Quneitra provinces and a new information minister, Khaled Zaarour, an academic who was most recently the dean of the faculty of media at Damascus University.
He replaces Hamza Mustafa, a former media executive who was head of the private Syria TV network before becoming information minister.
