Ghassan Hitto | |
---|---|
Prime Minister of the
National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Acting | |
In office 18 March 2013 – 14 September 2013 | |
President |
Moaz al-Khatib George Sabra (acting) Ahmad al-Jarba |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Ahmad Tu'mah al-Khader |
Personal details | |
Born | 1963 (age 60–61) Damascus, Syria |
Political party | Independent |
Alma mater |
Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis Indiana Wesleyan University |
Ghassan Hitto ( Arabic: غسان هيتو; born 1963) is a Syrian politician and the first head of an interim government established by the Syrian opposition National Coalition. [1] [2] Born in Damascus into a Kurdish family, he left Syria to the U.S. in 1980, became a naturalized American citizen and worked as an information technology executive and lived in Texas until recently. In late 2012, he relocated to Turkey. [3] He was elected prime minister on 18 March 2013 by a narrow margin over former Syrian Arab Republic agricultural minister Assad Mustafa. [4] Hitto resigned on 8 July 2013. [5]
Hitto graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis in 1989 with degrees in mathematics and computer science. [6] [7] He also received an M.B.A. at Indiana Wesleyan University in 1994. [3] [6]
Hitto is a former businessman who has lived in the United States for decades, most recently in Murphy, Texas. [2] [8] Before joining the opposition, he worked with Inovar, a Telecommunication firm, from 2001 to 2012. [6]
Hitto is married to Suzanne Hitto, an American schoolteacher; they have four children, Amer, Imran, Obaida, Lama all born in the United States. [4] He has worked in the technology sector and supported the private school Brighter Horizons Academy [9] founded in 1989 by the Islamic Services Foundation (ISF). [10] He is also a founding member of the Muslim Legal Fund of America [11] created after the 11 September 2001 attacks to give legal aid to Muslims.
Hitto received 35 of 48 votes cast for the premiership, according to the BBC. [12] Following his election, at least 12 key members of the SNC have suspended their membership partly as a result of Hitto's election on a majority vote instead of a consensus vote. [13]
Ghassan Hitto | |
---|---|
Prime Minister of the
National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Acting | |
In office 18 March 2013 – 14 September 2013 | |
President |
Moaz al-Khatib George Sabra (acting) Ahmad al-Jarba |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Ahmad Tu'mah al-Khader |
Personal details | |
Born | 1963 (age 60–61) Damascus, Syria |
Political party | Independent |
Alma mater |
Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis Indiana Wesleyan University |
Ghassan Hitto ( Arabic: غسان هيتو; born 1963) is a Syrian politician and the first head of an interim government established by the Syrian opposition National Coalition. [1] [2] Born in Damascus into a Kurdish family, he left Syria to the U.S. in 1980, became a naturalized American citizen and worked as an information technology executive and lived in Texas until recently. In late 2012, he relocated to Turkey. [3] He was elected prime minister on 18 March 2013 by a narrow margin over former Syrian Arab Republic agricultural minister Assad Mustafa. [4] Hitto resigned on 8 July 2013. [5]
Hitto graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis in 1989 with degrees in mathematics and computer science. [6] [7] He also received an M.B.A. at Indiana Wesleyan University in 1994. [3] [6]
Hitto is a former businessman who has lived in the United States for decades, most recently in Murphy, Texas. [2] [8] Before joining the opposition, he worked with Inovar, a Telecommunication firm, from 2001 to 2012. [6]
Hitto is married to Suzanne Hitto, an American schoolteacher; they have four children, Amer, Imran, Obaida, Lama all born in the United States. [4] He has worked in the technology sector and supported the private school Brighter Horizons Academy [9] founded in 1989 by the Islamic Services Foundation (ISF). [10] He is also a founding member of the Muslim Legal Fund of America [11] created after the 11 September 2001 attacks to give legal aid to Muslims.
Hitto received 35 of 48 votes cast for the premiership, according to the BBC. [12] Following his election, at least 12 key members of the SNC have suspended their membership partly as a result of Hitto's election on a majority vote instead of a consensus vote. [13]