Ghassan Hitto

Ghassan Hitto (Arabic: غسان هيتو; born 1963) is a Syrian businessman, NGO executive and politician. In 2013, he was the first head of the interim government established by the Syrian opposition's National Coalition.^[1][2] Born in Damascus into a Kurdish family, he left Syria to the U.S. in 1980, became a naturalized American citizen and worked as an information technology executive and lived in Texas until the Syrian civil war. In late 2012, he relocated to Turkey.^[3] He was elected prime minister on 18 March 2013 by a narrow margin over former Ba'athist agricultural minister Assad Mustafa.^[4] Hitto resigned on 8 July 2013.^[5]

Ghassan Hitto
Ghassan Hitto in 2013
Prime Minister of the Syrian Interim Government Acting
In office 18 March 2013 – 14 September 2013
President	Moaz al-Khatib George Sabra (acting) Ahmad al-Jarba
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Ahmad Tu'mah
Personal details
Born	1963 (age 61–62) Damascus, Syria
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis Indiana Wesleyan University

Education

Hitto graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis in 1989 with degrees in mathematics and computer science.^[6][7] He also received an M.B.A. at Indiana Wesleyan University in 1994.^[3][6]

Career

Hitto is a former businessman who has lived in the United States for decades, most recently in Murphy, Texas.^[2][8] Before joining the opposition, he worked with Inovar, a Telecommunication firm, from 2001 to 2012.^[6]

Hitto's candidacy as primer minister of the opposition's government was backed by Qatar. France 24 reported that he was seen as close to the opposition's Islamist ranks.^[9] He received 35 of 48 votes cast for the premiership, according to the BBC.^[10] Following his election, at least 12 key members of the SNC suspended their membership partly in protest of Hitto's election on a majority vote instead of a consensus vote.^[11]

Hitto was unable to form a government because of persistent divisions within the coalition. On 8 July 2013, he announced his resignation as prime minister.^[9]

Later, Hitto was active as the CEO of Syrian Forum, a humanitarian NGO that intervened in favor of Syrian refugees.^[12][13]

Personal life

Hitto is married to Suzanne Hitto, an American schoolteacher; they have four children, Amer, Imran, Obaida, Lama all born in the United States.^[4] He has worked in the technology sector and supported the private school Brighter Horizons Academy^[14] founded in 1989 by the Islamic Services Foundation (ISF).^[15] He is also a founding member of the Muslim Legal Fund of America^[16] created after the 11 September 2001 attacks to give legal aid to Muslims.