The new leadership in Syria has announced the appointment of Asaad Hassan al-Shaybani as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the interim government.

Sources indicate that al-Shaybani is the same individual as Zaid al-Attar, the head of the Political Affairs Administration in the Salvation Government.

Al-Shaybani has used several aliases, including Naseem, Abu Aisha, Abu Ammar al-Shami, Hossam al-Shafi'i, and most recently Zaid al-Attar.

During his tenure as head of the Political Affairs Administration, al-Shaybani met with officials from UN agencies and major international organizations operating in Idlib, as well as political representatives, diplomats, and others.

Al-Shaybani was born in Al-Hasakah Governorate in 1987 and later moved with his family to Damascus, where he graduated from the University of Damascus in 2009 with a degree in English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

He earned a master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Turkiye in 2022 and is currently pursuing a PhD in the same field. Additionally, he has completed the final stage of an MBA program at the American University.

Al-Shaybani joined the Syrian insurgency at its inception in 2011, witnessing all its phases. He contributed to the establishment of the Syrian Salvation Government and founded the Political Affairs Administration.

Azzam Gharib appointed Governor of Aleppo

In a related context, the new Syrian administration has appointed Azzam Gharib, known by the alias Abu al-Ezz Saraqib, as the Governor of Aleppo. Gharib is considered one of the prominent leaders of the Sham Front, a faction affiliated with the Turkish-backed "National Syrian Army".

According to a biography issued by the Sham Front, Gharib was born in the city of Saraqib in Idlib Governorate in 1985.

He graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry at Aleppo University in 2006 and later continued his studies at Imam al-Ouzai College in 2019. He also obtained a master’s degree in Quranic Interpretation from the Faculty of Theology at Bingol University in Turkiye in 2023.

Gharib was unable to complete his studies in Automatic Control Engineering at Aleppo University due to the political unrest in the country in 2011.

He joined the ranks of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement and the Islamic Front during the early stages of the war on Syria and later became deputy leader of the Sham Front before assuming its leadership in 2023.

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