{{short description|Prime minister of Syria (2000–2003)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Muhammad Mustafa Mero | native_name = {{Lang|ar|{{Script/Arabic|محمد مصطفى ميرو}}|rtl=yes}} | native_name_lang = ar | image = File:Muhammad Mustafa Mero.webp | order1 = [[Prime Minister of Syria]] | president1 = [[Hafez al-Assad]]<br />[[Abdul Halim Khaddam]] <small>(interim)</small> <br />[[Bashar al-Assad]] | deputy1 = [[Mohammad Al Hussein]]<br />[[Muhammad Naji al-Otari]]<br />[[Mustafa Tlass]]<br />[[Farouk al-Sharaa]] | term_start1 = 7 March 2000 | term_end1 = 10 September 2003 | predecessor1 = [[Mahmoud Zuabi]] | successor1 = [[Muhammad Naji al-Otari]] | order2 = [[List of governors of Aleppo Governorate|Governor of Aleppo Governorate]] | president2 = [[Hafez al-Assad]] | term_start2 = 26 December 1993 | term_end2 = 12 March 2000 | predecessor2 = [[Mohamed Mawaldi]] | successor2 = [[Salah Kanaj]] | office3 = Member of the [[Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Regional Command]] of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Syrian Regional Branch]] | term_start3 = 21 June 2000 | term_end3 = 9 June 2005 | birth_date = {{birth date text|1941}} | birth_place = [[Al-Tall, Syria|Al-Tall]], [[First Syrian Republic]] | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|12|22|1941|df=yes}} | death_place = Al Tall, [[Ba'athist Syria|Syrian Arab Republic]] | alma_mater = [[Damascus University]]<br />[[Moscow State University]] | party = [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Ba'ath Party]] | other_party = [[National Progressive Front (Syria)|National Progressive Front]] | cabinet = [[First Mustafa Mero government|Mero I]]<br />[[Second Mustafa Mero government|Mero II]] }} '''Muhammad Mustafa Mero''' ({{langx|ar|محمد مصطفى ميرو|Muḥammad Muṣṭafā Mīrū}};{{lrm}} 1941 – 22 December 2020)<ref name="orient"/> 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, Syria|al-Tall]] in the outskirts of [[Damascus]] in 1941.<ref name=ara12dec>{{cite news|title=On the new Syrian government|url=http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/011211/2001121119.html|access-date=24 February 2013|work=Arabic News|date=12 December 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012182845/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/011211/2001121119.html|archive-date=12 October 2008}}</ref><ref name=vic24apr>{{cite web|title=Syria Primer|url=http://merln.ndu.edu/merln/mipal/SyriaPrimer24apr03.pdf|publisher=Virtual Information Center|access-date=2 March 2013|date=24 April 2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222094228/http://merln.ndu.edu/merln/mipal/SyriaPrimer24apr03.pdf|archive-date=22 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Robert G. Rabil|title=Syria, The United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M18Jj0bMMl0C&pg=PA31|access-date=15 March 2013|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-99015-2|pages=31}}</ref><ref name=zis>{{cite journal|last=Zisser|first=Eyal|title=Will Bashshar al-Asad Rule?|journal=The Middle East Quarterly|date=September 2000|volume=VII|issue=3|pages=3–12|url=http://www.meforum.org/69/will-bashshar-al-asad-rule|access-date=14 August 2013|archive-date=30 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191130105922/https://www.meforum.org/69/will-bashshar-al-asad-rule|url-status=live}}</ref> He attended [[Damascus University]].<ref name=ara12dec/> Later he acquired a PhD in Arabic language and literature from the [[University of Moscow]].<ref name=zis/>{{efn|Some sources report that he gained his PhD from the [[Yerevan State University]].<ref name="orient"/>}}
==Career== Mero became a member of the [[Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction)|Ba'ath Party]] in 1966.<ref name=zis/> He joined the Arab Teachers' Union, becoming its secretary general for cultural affairs and publications. He served as governor of [[Daraa Governorate|the Daraa province]] from 1980 to 1986.<ref name=zis/> He was appointed governor of [[Al-Hasakah Governorate|the Al Hasakah province]] in 1986 and served in the post until 1993.<ref name=zis/> In 1993, he became governor of the [[Aleppo Governorate|Aleppo province]] and was in office until 2000.<ref name=zis/><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria: A commitment to change|url=http://www.euromoney.com/Article/1003691/A-commitment-to-change.html?Type=Article&ArticleID=1003691|access-date=10 February 2013|newspaper=Euromoney|date=July 2001|archive-date=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203205412/http://www.euromoney.com/Article/1003691/A-commitment-to-change.html?Type=Article&ArticleID=1003691|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite regional tensions between Syria and Turkey at the time, he was said to have enjoyed good relations with the Turkish government and was integral in dealings between the two governments.<ref name="East">{{cite book|last1=East|first1=Roger|last2=Thomas|first2=Richard|title=Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-85743-126-X|page=505|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mz-fXRsedPMC&q=Mustafa+Miro&pg=PA505|year=2003}}</ref> In June 2000, he became a leading figure in the [[Ba'ath Party (Syria)|Ba'ath party]].<ref name=ara12dec/>
On 7 March 2000, shortly before the death of President [[Hafez al-Assad]], Mero was appointed as prime minister,<ref name=bbc03>{{cite news|title=Syria appoints new prime minister|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3096478.stm|access-date=10 February 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=10 September 2003|archive-date=4 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804201300/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3096478.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Publications2012>{{cite book|title=Political Chronology of the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCSOT0_JAnwC&pg=PA2038|access-date=10 February 2013|date=12 October 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-35673-6|pages=2038}}</ref> replacing [[Mahmoud Zuabi]], who had been in office since 1987.<ref name=Eur2003>{{cite book|title=The Middle East and North Africa 2003|url=https://archive.org/details/middleeastnortha50thunse|url-access=registration|access-date=15 March 2013|year=2003|publisher=Europa Publications|isbn=978-1-85743-132-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/middleeastnortha50thunse/page/1019 1019]}}</ref> Mero's cabinet was announced on 13 March 2000, and was tasked with tackling economic reforms and combatting corruption.<ref name="Taylor">{{cite book|title=Europa World Year Book 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gP_-8rXzQs8C&q=%22Mero%22&pg=PA4056|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=1-85743-255-X|pages=4057–4061|year=2004}}</ref> After the death of Assad in 2000, he was one of a nine-member committee that oversaw the transition period.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bashar Aims to Consolidate Power in the Short-Term and to Open up Gradually|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Syria%3a+Bashar+Aims+To+Consolidate+Power+In+The+Short-Term+%26+To+Open...-a073738730|access-date=26 March 2013|work=APS Diplomat News Service|date=19 June 2000|archive-date=10 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610225825/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Syria%3A+Bashar+Aims+To+Consolidate+Power+In+The+Short-Term+%26+To+Open...-a073738730|url-status=live}}</ref>
He was retained by the new president, [[Bashar al-Assad]], and was promoted within the ranks of the ruling Ba'ath Party. Mero headed a ministerial and commercial delegation to neighboring Iraq in August 2001, becoming the first Syrian prime minister to visit the country since the [[Gulf War]].<ref name="Taylor"/> In December 2001, in an effort to stimulate economic reform, Mero was charged with forming a [[Second Mustafa Mero government|new cabinet]],<ref name="East"/> which saw extensive reorganization with several "pro-reform" ministers appointed to strategic portfolios related to the economy.<ref name="Taylor"/> His premiership also oversaw improving ties with Turkey. In July 2003, Mero became the first Syrian prime minister to visit Turkey in 17 years, where he signed three agreements on health, oil and natural gas, and customs matters.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bal|first=İdris|title=Turkish Foreign Policy in Post Cold War Era|publisher=Universal Publishers|isbn=1-58112-423-6|page=369| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vDzjkrTDKjYC&q=Mustafa+Miro&pg=PA369|year=2004}}</ref>
Mero resigned from office in early September 2003, reportedly due to the stagnation of the process of economic reform.<ref name="Taylor"/> Parliament speaker [[Mohammed Naji al-Otari|Mohammed Naji Al Otari]] replaced him as prime minister.<ref name=bbc03/> Mero continued his political career as a member of the central committee of the Ba'ath Party.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Moubayed|first=Sami|title=The faint smell of jasmine|journal=Al Ahram Weekly|date=1 June 2005|volume=744|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/744/re3.htm|access-date=2 March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325171127/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/744/re3.htm|archive-date=25 March 2013}}</ref> His term ended in June 2005, and he retired from politics.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Moubayed|first=Sami|title=Syria: Reform or Repair?|journal=Arab Reform Bulletin|date=July 2005|volume=3|issue=6|url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/Full_Issue3.pdf|access-date=8 March 2013|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081908/http://carnegieendowment.org/files/Full_Issue3.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Death== Mero died from [[COVID-19]] in Al-Tall, on 22 December 2020, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Syria]]. He was 79 years old.<ref name="orient">{{cite web|url=https://orient-news.net/ar/news_show/186856/0/%D9%88%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3-%D9%83%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D8%A7|title=وفاة آخر رئيس وزراء في عهد حافظ أسد بفيروس كورونا|work=Orient News|language=ar|date=22 December 2020|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115065955/https://orient-news.net/ar/news_show/186856/0/%D9%88%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D9%87%D8%AF-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B3-%D9%83%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D8%A7|url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Second Mustafa Mero government]]
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}} {{SyrianPrimeMinisters}} {{Ba'ath Party}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mero, Muhammad Mustafa}} [[Category:1941 births]] [[Category:2020 deaths]] [[Category:Damascus University alumni]] [[Category:Moscow State University alumni]] [[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria]] [[Category:Syrian Kurdish politicians]] [[Category:Syrian Sunni Muslims]] [[Category:Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region]] [[Category:People from Rif Dimashq Governorate]] [[Category:Prime ministers of Syria]] [[Category:Governors of Aleppo]]