Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab has defected from President Bashar al-Assad's government, to join "the revolution", his spokesman says.
Mr Hijab was appointed less than two months ago and his departure is the highest-profile defection since the uprising began in March 2011.
His family is reported to have fled Syria with him.
A Sunni Muslim, Riad Hijab comes from the Deir al-Zour area of eastern Syria which has been caught up in the revolt.
His spokesman Mohammed el-Etri told al-Jazeera TV that he was in a safe location.
Mr Hijab is the first cabinet minister to defect. The BBC's Dale Gavlak in Jordan says the development underscores the cracks in the regime which are reaching beyond military ranks.A month ago, Brig Gen Manaf Tlas, who was considered close to President Assad, also defected.
Thirty other generals have crossed the border into Turkey.
The prime minister's dismissal was reported by Syrian state TV, which gave no immediate explanation.
His replacement, Omar Ghalawanji, will reportedly lead a caretaker government.
Hours earlier, state TV said a bomb had gone off on the third floor of the Syrian state TV and radio building in Damascus, wounding three people.
Riad Farid Hijab
- Born in 1966 in Deir al-Zour, eastern Syria
- Married, with four children
- Holds a PhD in agriculture
- Joined the local branch of the Ba'ath Party command in 1998
- Named governor of the southern province of Qunaytira in 2008
- Transferred to head the Latakia governorate around the time protests were first reported - credited in state media with negotiating an end to a sit-in
- Appointed minister of agriculture on 14 April 2011
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