Lebanon reappoints Riad Salameh as central bank governor

Beirut: Lebanon's government has reappointed central bank governor Riad Salameh for another six-year term, information minister Melhem Riachy said on Wednesday.
Salameh has steered the central bank for almost 24 years and is widely seen as a guarantor of monetary stability in Lebanon, whose economy has for years been hindered by political crises and regional unrest, including the war in neighbouring Syria.
Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil had asked the cabinet to extend his term, which was due to expire at the start of August.
"This was proposed ... to the cabinet and was agreed on unanimously," Riachy told reporters in a televised announcement.
Salameh says the appointment of President Michel Aoun in October after a 2-1/2 period without a president, and the formation of a government with Saad Al Hariri as prime minister late last year has created a basis for better growth.
But Lebanon is on the brink of crisis again with its politicians at odds over an election law at the heart of the nation's sectarian system.