Muhammad Naji al-Otari (, also ''Etri'', ''Itri'' and ''Otri''; born 1 January 1944)Profile of Muhammad Naji al-Otari
/ref> is a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n politician who was

Prime Minister of Syria The prime minister of Syria (), officially the president of the Council of Ministers of the Syrian Arab Republic, was the head of government of Syria from 1920 to 2025. After the fall of the Assad regime, the prime minister of Syria was the head ...

from 2003 to 2011.Syrian cabinet resigns amid unrest, says state TV

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 29 March 2011

Early life and education

Born in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

in 1944, Otari studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and has a diploma in

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He is fluent in French, English, and Spanish.

Career

Otari headed the city council in Aleppo from 1983 to 1987 and is a former governor of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

. He was president of Aleppo's engineering syndicate from 1989 to 1993. He is a long-serving member of the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. In March 2000, he became a member of the Ba'ath Party's Central Committee and in June 2000 of the party's influential Regional Command. In March 2000, he was also appointed deputy prime minister for services affairs and he served in this post until 2003. He was elected speaker of the Syrian parliament, or People's Assembly, in March 2003.

Prime minister

He was first appointed Prime Minister on 10 September 2003. His nomination has been said to combine both "technocratic and Ba'athist trends" in Syrian politics. On 29 March 2011, the entire cabinet resigned following protests against the regime. On 3 April 2011, President Assad appointed Adel Safar to succeed Otari.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Otari, Muhammad Naji 1944 births Living people Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region Politicians from Aleppo Prime ministers of Syria Speakers of the People's Assembly of Syria Syrian Muslims Governors of Homs Deputy prime ministers of Syria