Maysaa Sabreen has been appointed by Syria's new rulers to lead the central bank, a senior official said on Monday, as the war-torn country navigates through recovering its battered economy after the downfall of the longtime dictator Bashar Assad.
She will be the first woman to lead the institution in its more than 70-year history, replacing Mohammed Issam Hazime, who was appointed governor in 2021 by Assad.
Sabreen had served as the central bank's first deputy governor. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sabreen inherits a dire financial crisis following a decade of civil war, mismanagement and sanctions, which has led to the Syrian pound drastically losing its value against the U.S. dollar.
The United Nations estimates that some 90% of Syrians live in poverty.
Sabreen is the second woman appointed in a leadership role under Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa and his group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led Assad's ouster in a lightning offensive.
The offensive ended decades of Assad family rule and a 13-year civil war.
