Imad Mohammad Deeb Khamis ( ar, عماد محمد ديب خميس, ʿImād Muḥammad Dīb Khamīs; born 1 August 1961) is a Syrian politician who was

Prime Minister of Syria The prime minister of Syria (Arabic: رئيس وزراء سوريا), formally titled the president of the Council of Ministers ( ar, رئيس مجلس الوزراء), is the head of government of the Syrian Arab Republic. Nomination The prime ...

from 2016 to 2020 under President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

. Previously, he was minister of electricity from 2011 to 2016.

Early life and education

Khamis was born in

Saqba Saqba ( ar, سقبا; also spelled Sakba or Siqba) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Markaz Rif Dimashq District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, 7 km east of central Damascus. Nearby localities include Jisrin to th ...

near

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

on 1 August 1961. He earned a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

University of Damascus The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...

in 1981.

Career

Khamis was assigned to the management of a number of departments in the General Organization for the distribution and investment power from 1987 to 2005. He was Director General of the General Company for Electricity for the

Damascus Governorate Damascus Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة دمشق ') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. Completely surrounded by the Rif Dimashq Governorate, it consists only of the city of Damascus, the capital of ...

from 2005 to 2008. He was appointed Director-General of the Public Corporation for the distribution and investment power in 2008. On 3 July 2016, Khamis was appointed Prime Minister of Syria, following the 2016 parliamentary election. He was dismissed on 11 June 2020 by President Bashar al-Assad amid a worsening economic crisis and subsequent regional protests.

Sanctions

The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

sanctioned Khamis due to his alleged role in using electric cuts as a way of repressing Syrian people on 24 March 2012.

Corruption allegations

According to '' Al Akhbar'', Khamis was detained after he was dismissed from premiership, and has been interrogated due to corruption charges. However, Khamis was seen shortly after, when he was voting during the 2020 Syrian parliamentary election.

Personal life

Khamis is married and has three children.

References