Bashar al-Assad appears on Syrian currency for the first time ever

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has appeared on the Syrian currency for the first time since he assumed office after succeeding his father in 2000. His portrait was printed on a new 2,000-pound banknote that went into circulation on Sunday.

The 2,000-pound note was printed years ago, Central bank governor Duraid Durgham said, but the decision to put it into circulation was delayed "due to the circumstances of the war and exchange rate fluctuations".The state news agency SANA reported that Durgham cited wear and tear of the existing notes as an indication that the time was right to put the new note into circulation. The new note is equal to around $3.9 at current exchange rates. Since the country's conflict started in 2011, the Syrian pound has plunged in value . It was 47 pounds to a dollar in 2010 but at present, it is now around 500 pounds to the dollar.

Prior to circulating the newly printed 2,000-pound note, the highest denomination of Syrian banknote was 1,000 pounds and the currency previously only carried images of historic icons. Assad's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad who died in 2000, appeared on coins and on an older version of the 1,000 pound note, which is still in circulation.

Durgham said the new note featuring Assad's portrait was put into circulation "in Damascus and a number of the provinces".