Riyad Farid Hijab

Riyad Farid Hijab
رياض فريد حجاب
Hijab at the 2016 Munich Security Conference
Prime Minister of Syria
In office 23 June 2012 – 6 August 2012
President	Bashar al-Assad
Preceded by	Adel Safar
Succeeded by	Omar Ibrahim Ghalawanji (Acting)
Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform
In office 14 April 2011 – 6 August 2012
Prime Minister	Adel Safar
Preceded by	Adel Safar
Succeeded by	Subhi Ahmad al-Abdullah
Personal details
Born	1966 (age 57–58) Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Political party	Ba'ath Party (until 7 August 2012)
Other political affiliations	National Progressive Front (before 2012)

Riyad Farid Hijab (Arabic: رياض فريد حجاب, romanized: Riyāḍ Farīd Ḥijāb; born 1966) is a Syrian politician. He was Prime Minister of Syria from June to August 2012, serving under President Bashar al-Assad. From 2011 to 2012, he was Minister of Agriculture.

On 6 August 2012, the Syrian government released a statement saying that Hijab had been dismissed.^{[citation needed]} Shortly thereafter^[1] a man describing himself as Hijab's spokesman and several news organizations stated he had resigned and defected to the rebel side in the Syrian civil war. Information minister Omran al-Zoub's later remarks about "the flight of some personalities" were interpreted by The Guardian as referring to Hijab.^[2] Hijab is the highest-ranking defector from the Syrian government.^[3]