# Hadi al-Bahra

Hadi al-Bahra (Arabic: هادي البحرة, romanized: Hādī al-Baḥra; born 1959) is a Syrian politician who is the current president of National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (Syrian National Coalition, SNC), an umbrella Syrian opposition group founded during the Syrian civil war. He held the position of president of the SNC from 9 July 2014 to 4 January 2015 and again from 12 September 2023.

## Education

Born on the 13th of February 1959 in Damascus, Syria, Al-Bahra holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Wichita State University in the United States.

## Career

Before the Syrian Revolution and the outbreak of the civil war, al-Bahra spent much of his adult life in Saudi Arabia. He held the position of Executive Director of Erfan and Bagedo General Hospital in Jeddah from 1983 to 1989. In the period from 1989 until 2003, he was CEO of Horizon of Commercial Development Co, then from 2003 to 2005, general manager of Horizon International Exhibitions, a company operating in the free zone in Damascus, Syria and then the CEO of Techno Media from 2005 until 2011. Al-Bahra has extensive experience in communications systems, information technology, interactive display systems, and the organization of conferences and events.

## Syrian civil war

Al-Bahra used his experience in communications technology to support the Syrian opposition, by contributing to the establishment of support groups to coordinate communication between Syrian activists and the regional and international media. He worked with the opposition inside Syria, contributing to the media, relief activities and the political side of the protests.
Al-Bahra joined the Syrian National Coalition in the expansion that took place on 31 May 2013. He was then elected to be the general secretary of the political committee. The coalition chose him to be the chief negotiator of its delegation to the Geneva II Conference on Syria. On July 9 2014, al-Bahra was elected as president in Istanbul, Turkey, with 62 votes, defeating his nearest rival Mouaffaq Nyrabia, who received 41 votes. He held that position until January 2015. From 2019, he was co-chairman of the Syrian Constitutional Committee.
In September 2023, al-Bahra became again president of the coalition. Syria Direct reported that al-Bahra had been elected at the insistence of SNC's Turkish-backed members, particularly Abdurrahman Mustafa, prime minister of the Syrian Interim Government. Syria Direct commented that al-Bahra's election was a sign that the SNC was now operating mostly as a platform for Turkish interests.
In December 2024, after the fall of the Assad regime, al-Bahra called for a political transition in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2554 with 18 months to rebuild institutions and restart Syria's economy, including six months to draft a new constitution. He relocated to Damascus at the end of December.
In January 2025, al-Bahra had a three-hour meeting with Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to discuss plans for the country's future. On February 12, al-Bahra held another meeting with al-Sharaa and Bader Jamous, president of the Syrian Negotiation Commission. It was agreed that both organizations would dissolve within the new Syrian authorities.