DAMASCUS, Syria, April 24 (UPI) -- Syrian President Bashar Assad replaced several ministers in his Cabinet and created a new ministry in the second major shake-up of his administration.
In legislative decree No. 25 for 2009, Assad established the Ministry of State for Environment Affairs. In another decree, he appointed a woman, Kawkab al-Sabah Mohammad Jamil Dayeh, as its top official.
The Syrian president appointed new Cabinet officials at the ministries of Justice, Interior, Health, Local Administration and Presidential Affairs in addition to the environmental position, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.
He also transferred Gov. Ali Ahmad Mansoura from As-Suwayda governorate to Aleppo governorate, placing Malik Mohammed Ali in the As-Suwayda post.
Assad made similar administrative moves in February.
In related news, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem received the credentials of Michel Khoury, the Lebanese envoy to Damascus.
Khoury arrived at his official position in Damascus on Monday. He became the first Lebanese ambassador to Damascus since either country gained independence from France near the end of World War II.
