Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reshuffled his cabinet on Monday, naming eight first-time ministers to key posts such as interior, economy and information in an apparent bid to revive the country's staggering reforms.
Ghazi Kanaan, a former head of Syrian military security and intelligence in Lebanon, was named interior minister, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
"It is an expected change that comes as a step in the reform process," said analyst Imad al-Shuaibi. "It does not necessarily indicate a problem in the performance of outgoing ministers ... it reflects the desire for improved performance."
The interior portfolio change comes eight days after the assassination in Damascus of an official of anti-Israel Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Syria blamed Israel for the killing and Israeli media, citing unidentified security sources, also said Israel was behind it.
The reshuffle of the one-year-old cabinet handed the information portfolio to Mahdi Dakhl-Allah, the editor-in-chief of the al-Baath ruling party's newspaper.
Amer Lotfi, the manager of the state-owned cotton exporter in Aleppo, replaced Ghassan al-Rifai, a former World Bank official, as economy and commerce minister. Rifai was in the first cabinet appointed by Assad after he assumed power in 2000 succeeding his late father Hafez al-Assad.
The industry portfolio went to Ghassan Tayara, the country's engineers' syndicate chief. The reshuffle also included the portfolios of health, Islamic endowments, justice and social affairs, and labour.
"I think Assad wants to remind government institutions that progress should be made on reform, economic and administrative," a diplomat said. "The new ministers are all technocrats."
In June, Assad expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of economic and administrative reform that he launched after taking office. His remarks raised expectations of a cabinet reshuffle that tackled economy-related portfolios.
Since Assad assumed power, the socialist republic has reintroduced private sector banks and amended some laws that have been hampering economic development.
But it still restricts capital flows and foreign exchange and remains the main provider of basic services with no privatisation plans.
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