Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on Saturday appointing former Communications Minister Dr. Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali to form a government, according to the Syrian Information Agency (SANA).

The new government will replace the outgoing administration, which has been serving in an interim capacity since parliamentary elections in mid-July.

Jalali, 55, earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Damascus University in 1992 and a doctorate in engineering economics from Ain Shams University in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in 2000, and worked as an assistant professor at Damascus University.

Jalali previously served as Syria’s minister of communications from 2014 to 2016.