Salim Yasin (; 10 October 1937 – 6 March 2016) was a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

economist, academic and former deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

Early life and education

Yasin was born in

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

on 10 October 1937. He received a bachelor's degree from

Damascus University Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...

in 1960. He obtained a master's degree in economics from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

in 1963, and a PhD in 1965.

Career

After his graduation, Yasin began to work as director of the Latakia petroleum installation in 1960 and served there for one year. From 1961 to 1965 he worked as a civil servant. Then he served as assistant professor of economics at the

University of Aleppo University of Aleppo (, also called Aleppo University) is a public university located in Aleppo, Syria. It is the second largest university in Syria after the University of Damascus. During 2005–06, the university had over 61,000 undergraduate ...

from 1966 to 1970. He was appointed vice dean of the faculty of commerce of the same university and his tenure lasted from 1967 to 1969. He served as acting president of the

from 1969 to 1970. Then he became associate professor of economics and president of

Tishreen University Latakia University (, ) is a public university located in Latakia, Syria. It is the third-largest university in Syria. History The university was founded under the name of the University of Latakia on 20 May 1971. The name was changed in 1975 ...

which he held from 1971 to 1978. He was the

transport minister A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

in the period 1978–1980 and then minister of planning between 1980 and 1981. Next he was named as the minister of economy and foreign trade in 1981 and was in office until 1985. Yasin was appointed deputy prime minister in 1985. Since Prime Minister Abdel Rauf Al Kassem resigned, a new government was formed led by Mahmoud Zuabi on 2 November 1987. Yasin retained his post together with other two deputy prime ministers, namely

Mustafa Tlass Mustafa Abdul Qadir Tlass (; 11 May 1932 – 27 June 2017) was a Syrian military officer, author, historian and politician who was Ba'athist Syria's minister of defense from 1972 to 2004. He was part of the four-member Regional Command during th ...

and Mahmoud Qaddour. Yasin was in office until March 2000 and replaced by Khalid Raad in the post. Then Yasin returned to teaching post at

. Following the death of Hafez al-Assad he was made a member of the Baath Party's regional command in June 2000.

Controversy

In June 2000, Yasin was arrested and imprisoned on charges of

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

for which former Prime Minister Mahmoud Zuabi was also accused. His family assets were also frozen by the government. Then he was freed in November 2000. However, on 8 December 2001, he and former transport minister Mufid Abdul Karim were sentenced to ten years in prison and fined for $240 million.

Death

On 6 March 2016, Yasin died in his hometown, Latakia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasin, Salim 20th-century Syrian economists 21st-century Syrian economists 1937 births 2016 deaths People from Latakia Damascus University alumni University of Colorado alumni Presidents of universities in Syria Academic staff of Damascus University Academic staff of the University of Aleppo Academic staff of Latakia University Transport ministers of Syria Deputy prime ministers of Syria Ministers of state planning of Syria Ministers of economy of Syria Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region