Mohammad al-Atrash () (born 1934) is a Syrian economist and independent politician who served as a cabinet minister in different periods.

Early life and education

Al-Atrash was born in

Tartus Tartus ( / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarṭūs''; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French language, French Tartous) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (af ...

in 1934. He received a bachelor's degree from

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He also holds a PhD in economics, which he received from the University of London.

Career

Al-Atrash worked as an advisor to

the World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development. The World Bank is the collective name for the Internati ...

. He was the director of Syria at the Bank. After public offices, al-Atrash began to take part in cabinet positions as an independent politician. From 1980 to 1984, he served as economy minister. He resigned from office due to disagreements with then-prime minister Rauf Kasim. He was again named as

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

to the cabinet headed by

Muhammad Mustafa Mero Muhammad Mustafa Mero (; 1941 – 22 December 2020) was a Syrian politician who served as Prime Minister of Syria from 7 March 2000 to 10 September 2003. Early life and education Mero was born into a Sunni rural family in al-Tall in the outskir ...

on 13 December 2001. Al-Atrash's appointment occurred as part of the cabinet reshuffle, and he replaced Khalid Al Mahaini. Al-Atrash's term lasted until 10 September 2003 when he was replaced by Mohammad Al Hussein as finance minister.

Views

Al-Atrash is a moderate socialist and

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, believing in controlling the need for change.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Atrash, Mohammad 20th-century Syrian economists 21st-century Syrian economists 1934 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of London Living people Ministers of finance of Syria People from Tartus