Riyad Farid Hijab (Arabic: رياض فريد حجاب, romanized: Riyāḍ Farīd Ḥijāb; born 1966) is a Syrian politician.

[4] On 6 June 2012, after a parliamentary election, which was boycotted by the rebels, Hijab was named by President Bashar al-Assad as Prime Minister of Syria.

[7] Syrian state TV reported that Hijab had been "sacked" and that Deputy PM Omar Ibrahim Ghalawanji would become the head of a new caretaker government.

[citation needed] Hijab released a statement through Otari criticizing the current Syrian government, calling it a "terrorist regime".

He called on the Syrian Arab Army and its officers to join the rebellion against president Assad and the Ba'ath party government and for the opposition forces to unite.

[12] On 17 August, Hijab held meetings in Doha, Qatar, to discuss Assad's toppling and to attempt unification of Syrian opposition forces.

However, one of the ministers named by the opposition, Treasurer of Syria Mohamad Gillati appeared on Syrian television later in the day to deny the rumors of his defection to the rebellion.

[15] According to Der Spiegel, Hijab and other prominent Syrian defectors were bribed by the French secret services inside the country as well as by Qatar.