Syrian opposition elects US-educated tech exec as interim PM

Published time: March 18, 2013 23:56 
Edited time: March 19, 2013 03:04

The Syrian opposition coalition has elected Western-educated former businessman and US citizen Ghassan Hitto to oversee a provisional government for Syria's rebel-held areas in a vote in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Hitto received 35 votes out of 49 ballots cast during the Syrian National Coalition meeting in the Turkish city. He is now in charge of forming a new cabinet that the opposition hopes will replace the government of Bashar Assad.

Opposition spokesmen called him a "consensus candidate" who commands both respect from the insurgency's Islamists as well as its liberals.

Fifty-year-old Hitto was born in Damascus but has lived for decades in the United States, mostly in Texas. He is described as being heavily involved in various Islamic causes. He holds a bachelors in mathematics and computer science from Purdue University in Indiana, earning an MBA from the same school in 1994.

His election means that he will effectively serve as prime minister of the parts of Syria controlled by the anti-Assad insurgency.

The long-time tech executive's resume includes 25 years with technology and telecommunications firms, with 16 of those as an executive manager.

Hitto left the corporate world in November 2012 "to join the ranks of the Syrian revolution."

FULL STORY: http://rt.com/news/syrian-opposition-prime-minister-458/