Adel Safar

Adel Safar has been the Prime Minister of Syria since his appointment in April 2011. Trained in agriculture and biotechnology at universities in Syria and France, he was a professor and later Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Damascus University before becoming secretary of the university's branch of the ruling Baath Party. In 2003, he became Minister of Agriculture. Safar is Shia, a minority both in the largely-Sunni nation and the largely-Alawi government.

As the Arab Spring came to Syria, the Syrian people protested against the governmental corruption. In response, President Bashar al-Assad sacked the Prime Minister, and the rest of the Cabinet, including Mr Safar, resigned as well. Seen as an honest politician, Safar was tasked with establishing a new cabinet days later. While certain corrupt officials had been sacked, protesters demanded not just new faces in office but expanded democracy to choosing their leaders.

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