Maysaa Sabrine becomes first woman to lead Syria’s central bank

People and cars are seen in front of the Central Bank of Syria, after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]

Syria’s new rulers have appointed Maysaa Sabrine, formerly a deputy governor of the Syrian central bank, to lead the institution – the first woman to do so in its more than 70-year history, a senior Syrian official said.

With more than 15 years of experience in the field, Sabrine is a longtime central bank official mostly focused on oversight of the country’s banking sector.