| President of the Syrian Arab Republic | |
|---|---|
| رئيس الجمهورية العربية السورية (Arabic) | |
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| Executive branch of the Syrian Government General Secretariat of the Presidency | |
| Style |
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| Type | |
| Member of | |
| Residence | People's Palace |
| Seat | Damascus |
| Constituting instrument | 2025 Interim Constitution of Syria |
| Precursor | Prime Minister |
| Formation | 29 June 1922; 103 years ago (1922-06-29) 29 January 2025; 9 months ago (2025-01-29) (current form) |
| First holder |
|
| Deputy | Vice President |
Thepresident of Syria, officially thepresident of the Syrian Arab Republic, (Arabic:رئيس الجمهورية العربية السورية,romanized: Ra'īs al-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah as-Sūriyyah), is thehead of state andhead of government ofSyria. The president directs theexecutive branch of theSyrian government and serves as thecommander-in-chief of theSyrian Army andArmed Forces. The president represents the nation ininternational relations and formalizes treaties with foreign countries.
In 1922, French authorities created theSyrian Federation under theMandate for Syria and Lebanon, withSubhi Barakat serving as its president. The federation was short-lived and was replaced by theState of Syria in 1925. Barakat briefly remained president until the outbreak of theGreat Syrian Revolt later that year, which led to his resignation. He was succeeded byAhmad Nami, who served as president until his removal in 1928. In the following years, the Syrian presidency underwent several changes in leadership, including a coup byHusni al-Za'im inMarch 1949, followed by another led byAdib Shishakli in1951. Following the1958 referendum, Syria joined theUnited Arab Republic, and its presidentGamal Nasser, also became the Syrian president in the same referendum. This lasted for three years until the1961 coup, when Syria restored its independence and the1950 constitution.
The1963 coup d'état, carried out by theBa'ath Party, established aone-party state that ruledBa'athist Syria. Internal power struggles within Ba'athist factions led to further coups in1966 and1970, with the latter bringingHafez al-Assad to power. Under Assad, Syria became ahereditary dictatorship.After his death in 2000, his sonBashar al-Assad succeeded him and ruled until hisoverthrow in 2024. Following Assad’s fall,Ahmed al-Sharaa, the commander ofHayat Tahrir al-Sham and head of the new Syrian administration, assumed thede facto duties of head of state until he was officially appointed president by the Syrian General Command.
After the fall of the Assad regime, anew interim constitution was implemented on 13 March 2025 and remains in effect today. The interim constitution establishes Syria as apresidential system, with executive power vested in the president. It grants the president the authority to establish executive, regulatory, and control measures, and to issuepresidential orders and decisions in accordance with the law. The president's official residence is thePeople's Palace, located in the capital,Damascus. The position is currently held by Ahmed al-Sharaa in a transitional capacity since 29 January 2025.
In 1922, French authorities created theSyrian Federation under theMandate for Syria and Lebanon, andSubhi Barakat was its president.[1][2] The federation system did not last, and was replaced as theState of Syria by 1925. Barakat briefly retained the role of president until the beginning of theGreat Syrian Revolt that year caused him to resign.[2]Ahmad Nami replaced Barakat as president, until he was removed in 1928.[3]
By 1930, Syrian pressure led the French authorities to promulgate theSyrian Constitution of 1930, establishing theFirst Syrian Republic. Under the constitution, the president must be aMuslim, and would be elected by a majority of theSyrian parliament.[4]
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Following thewithdrawal of French troops from Syria in 1946, Syrian officials approved theSyrian Constitution of 1950, which maintained aparliamentary system. As such, the president would be elected by a majority of parliament.[5] In the following years, Syria's presidency experienced several upheavals, including byHusni al-Za'im following hisMarch 1949 coup and later byAdib Shishakli in through the1951 coup.[2] During Shishakli's rule, he published theSyrian Constitution of 1953, which established apresidential system withdirect elections to the presidency. However, this constitution lasted less than a year, as the reinstated presidentHashim al-Atassi returned the country to the 1950 constitution following the1954 coup only a year later.[6][7]
Following the1958 referendum, Syria joined theUnited Arab Republic, and its president,Gamal Nasser, also became the Syrian president in the same referendum.[8] This lasted for three years until the1961 coup, when Syria restored its independence and the 1950 constitution.[9]
Following the1963 Syrian coup d'état, the first decision of the "Revolution Command Council," chaired byLu'ay al-Atassi, was to suspend the provisional constitution of the United Arab Republic, arrest PresidentNazim al-Qudsi and Prime MinisterKhalid al-Azm, and impose astate of emergency that lasted for 48 years until it was lifted in April 2011.[10] A new Provisional Constitution was adopted on 25 April 1964, which itself was replaced by the Provisional Constitution of 1 May 1969.[11]
On 31 January 1973,Hafez al-Assad implemented anew constitution, which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the president of Syria must be a Muslim, leading to fierce demonstrations inHama,Homs andAleppo.[12] The main objection to the constitution from demonstrators was that Islam was not specified as the state religion.[13] In response to riots, the Syrian Constitution of 1973 was amended to stipulate that Islam was the religion of the president.[13] The constitution has been amended twice. Article 6 was amended in 1981.[14]
After securing his control over the Syrian government, Assad initially chose his brother,Rifaat al-Assad, as his successor, but Rifaat's attempted power grab while Hafez was in a coma in 1984 led to his exile in Europe.[15] Following the incident,Bassel al-Assad was groomed to succeed his father.[16] Hafez's efforts to make Bassel the next president of Syria intensified in the early 1990s;[17] after Hafez'selection victory in 1991 in an election where Hafez was the only candidate, the president was publicly referred to as "Abu Basil" (Father of Bassel).[18]
Shortly after Bassel died in a car accident in 1994,Bashar al-Assad was recalled to the Syrian Army. State propaganda soon began elevating Bashar's public image as "the hope of the masses" to prepare the public for a continuation of the rule of theAssad family.[19][20] Soon after the death of Bassel, Hafez al-Assad decided to make Bashar the newheir apparent.[21]
After the death of Hafez al-Assad on 10 June 2000, the Constitution was amended. The minimum age requirement for the presidency was lowered from 40 to 34, which was Bashar's age at the time.[22] A 9-member committee was founded, headed byAbdul Halim Khaddam, to oversee the transition period.[23] He was appointed by this committee as interim President of Syria on 10 June and was in consideration to be Assad's permanent successor, but instead helped Assad's son, Bashar.[24][25]
The sole candidate of the presidential referendum,[26] Bashar al-Assad was subsequentlyconfirmed president on 10 July 2000,[27] with 97.29% support for his leadership.[28] On 17 July 2000, Assad became president, succeeding his father, Hafez.[29] In line with his role as President of Syria, he was also appointed thecommander-in-chief of theSyrian Armed Forces and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party.[30] The existing personality cult portrays him as the "Young Leader" and the "Hope of the People."[31] Drawing influence fromNorth Korea's hereditary leadership model,[32] official propaganda in Syria ascribed divine features to the Assad family, and reveres the Assad patriarchs as the founding fathers of modern Syria.[33]
Anew constitution was approved in February 2012 after the start of theSyrian revolution.[34] A series ofstate elections were held every seven years which Assad won with overwhelming majority of votes. The elections are unanimously regarded by independent observers as asham process and boycotted by theopposition.[a][b] The last two elections – held in2014 and2021 – were conducted only in areas controlled by the Syrian government during the country's ongoingcivil war and condemned by theUnited Nations.[44][45][46]
The 2012 constitution ceased to be in effect after thefall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024 and was officially phased out on 29 January 2025.[47][48]
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After thefall of the Assad regime, the position became vacant on 8 December 2024.[49] The duties of the head of state were carried out by thecaretaker government, withAhmed al-Sharaa serving as thede facto leader.[50] On 29 January 2025, during theSyrian Revolution Victory Conference inDamascus, the Syrian General Command officially appointed al-Sharaa as the president for the transitional period.[51] As president, al-Sharaa announced plans to issue a "constitutional declaration" as a legal reference following the repeal of the2012 constitution of Ba'athist Syria.[52]
On 2 March, al-Sharaa declared the establishment of a committee tasked with drafting a constitutional declaration to guide the country's transition following the ousting of theAssad regime.[53] On 13 March, al-Sharaa signed aninterim constitution for a transitional period of five years, enshrining Islamic law as a primary source of jurisprudence and promising to protect the rights of all Syria's ethnic and religious groups.[54] The Interim Constitution sets apresidential system with the executive power at the hands of the president who appoints the ministers,[55] without the position ofprime minister.[56]
On 29 March, theSyrian transitional government was announced by al-Sharaa at a ceremony at the People's Palace inDamascus,[57] in which the new ministers were sworn in and delivered speeches outlining their agendas.[58] The government replaced the caretaker government, which was formed following the fall of the Assad regime.[59]
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The General Secretariat was established by a decree issued by PresidentBashar al-Assad on 13 December 2023, as part of a broader restructuring of the Syrian presidency.[60] This reform dissolved theMinistry of Presidential Affairs and transferred all its staff and responsibilities to the new secretariat, which reports directly to the president rather than operating as a separate ministry.[61]
TheSecretary-General to the President is considered one of the highest-ranking positions in the Syrian state under the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic.[62][63] The office supervises the presidential staff and represents the President at official events.[64] The Secretary-General is responsible for managing the administrative and organizational affairs of the Presidency, overseeing the President’s schedule, organizing official meetings and visits, and coordinating withgovernment institutions to implement presidential directives.[65] The current Secretary-General isMaher al-Sharaa.[66][67]
Following the fall of the Assad government on 8 December 2024 and the establishment of a transitional administration under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the General Secretariat continued its operations. The position ofAssistant Secretary-General gained prominence in 2025, particularly with the appointment ofAli Keda on 26 May 2025. His role focused on Cabinet Affairs amid efforts to stabilize the new government and coordinate policy implementation across ministries.[68][69]
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The1973 Constitution of Ba'athist Syria made the president head of state, chief executive, and commander-in-chief.[70] Candidates were nominated by theBa'ath Party, approved by parliament, and confirmed by referendum for a renewable seven-year term.[71] The president held extensive powers, including appointing and dismissing ministers, senior officials, and judges, as well as dissolving parliament and appointing vice presidents.[71] The2012 Constitution expanded these powers further,[72] granting the president broad control over the executive, legislature, and judiciary.[73] It remained in force until thefall of the Assad regime in December 2024 and was replaced by the2025 Interim Constitution of Syria on 13 March 2025.[74][47][48]
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Under the2025 Interim Constitution of Syria, the president of the Syrian Arab Republic serves as thecommander-in-chief of theSyrian Army andArmed Forces and is responsible for:[75]
The president has the authority to:[75]
In the event of a severe threat to national unity, sovereignty, or the proper functioning of state institutions, the president may:[75]
A presidential election in Syria is planned to take place within five years of thefall of the Assad regime in December 2024.[76] Until then, Syria will be governed by atransitional government led by Syrian PresidentAhmed al-Sharaa.[77] The last Syrian presidential election inBa'athist Syria was held in2021, before its overthrow during the2024 Syrian opposition offensive.[78]
Article 3 of theInterim Constitution states, "The religion of the President of the Republic isIslam;Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation.[75]
TheInterim Constitution provides the following oath or affirmation for the president, which must be taken before thePeople's Assembly.[75]
I swear byAlmighty God to faithfully preserve the sovereignty of the State, the unity of the country, the integrity of its territories, and the independence of its decision, and to defend them, and to respect the law, protect the interests of the people, and strive with all sincerity and honesty to secure a decent life for them, achieve justice among them, and consolidate noble values and virtuous morals.
— Interim Constitution, Article 33, Sec. 2
The People's Palace is the official residence of the President of Syria. It is located in the western part of Damascus, on Mount Mezzeh, just north of the Mezzeh neighborhood and next toMount Qasioun, overlooking the city. The entire plateau of Mount Mezzeh is part of the palace compound, which is surrounded by a security wall and guard watchtowers. In front of the building is a large fountain, and the palace itself mostly consists of empty rooms clad inCarrara marble.[79][80] TheSyrian caretaker government later started using the palace for diplomatic events.[81]
Before the construction of the new People's Palace on Mount Mezzeh in the early 1990s,Tishreen Palace served as the primary residence of theAssad family.[82] On 8 December 2024, during thefall of the Assad regime, anti-Assad forces took control of the palace.[83][84][85] After the regime fell, Syrians ransacked andlooted the palace, inviting much of the public.[86][87][88]
Article 34 of theInterim Constitution states, "In the event of a vacancy in the presidency, theVice President shall assume the powers of the President of the Republic.".[75]
The Syrian election ranked as worst among all the contests held during 2014.
… unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... al-Assad's 2014 election... occurred within an authoritarian context.
Ahmed al-Sharaa has been Syria's de facto leader since leading the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad
| French mandate (1922–1930) |  |
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| First Syrian Republic (1930–1950) | |
| Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) | .svg) |
| United Arab Republic (1958–1961) | %2c_Flag_of_Syria_(1980%25E2%2580%25932024).svg) |
| Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963) | |
| Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024) | |
| Transitional period (2024–present) |
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