Sabrine is the first female governor of Syria's central bank in its more than 70-year history.
Syria's new regime has appointed Maysaa Sabrine, a former deputy governor of Syria's central bank, to head the agency – the first woman to do so in its more than 70-year history, a senior Syrian official said.
With over 15 years of experience in the industry, Sabrine is a long-time central banker with a focus on managing the country's banks.
A master in accounting from Damascus University and certified public accountant, Sabrine has been a member of the board of directors at the Damascus Securities Exchange since December 2018, representing the central bank. He also served as deputy governor and head of the Bank's Office Control Division, according to the bank's official website.
Sabrine replaces Mohammed Issam Hazime, who was appointed governor in 2021 by then-President Bashar al-Assad and remained after al-Assad was overthrown by a. lightning attack attackled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), on December 8.
Since the attacks, the bank has taken steps to liberalize the heavily state-controlled economy, including ending the need for import and export licenses and restricting the use of foreign currencies.
But Syria and the bank remain under heavy sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries.
The bank has also reviewed the country's economy after the fall of al-Assad and a brief coup where the Syrian currency was stolen but the main rooms were left untouched.
The museum holds about 26 tonnes of gold, the same amount it had at the start of the civil war in 2011, sources said, but foreign exchange has dropped from about $18bn before the war to about $200m, he said.
Sabrine is the second woman elected by the new Syrian government, led by de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Earlier this month, Aisha al-Dibs was appointed head of the Women's Affairs office under the Syrian government.