Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday appointed Najah Attar as new vice president, according to the state-news agency SANA.
Najah Attar has served as the vice president for cultural affairs since 2006 and the new presidential decree has appointed her as the sole vice president.
Well-informed sources told Xinhua that Assad has appointed Attar in accordance with the new constitution to be his vice president during his third 7-year term in office which has officially started on July 17.
The state-news agency spelled no details about the former vice president Farouq al-Sharaa, who has served in the Syrian government since the days of Hafez al-Assad, the father of incumbent President Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa was foreign minister from 1984 until 2006 when he became vice president of Syria.