President of Syria

The **President of Syria** is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. He appoints and can fire the Prime Minister and other members of the Council of Ministers (the cabinet) and military officers.

Bashar al-Assad was president for twenty-four years until being forced out of office following the success of the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives.

On 29 January 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed as the president of Syria for the transitional government.

## List

List of heads of state of Syria
|rowspan="2"|No.|rowspan="2"|Portrait|rowspan="2"|Name|rowspan="2"|Elected|colspan="3"|Term of office|colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Political party|rowspan="2" width="40%"|Note(s)|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|bgcolor=#EEEEEE colspan="10"|Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963)|||||||||||||
|—||Maamun al-Kuzbari|—|29 September 1961|20 November 1961|||||||||
|Independent|Kuzbari took office following the 1961 coup d'état, which dissolved the United Arab Republic.|||||||||||||
|—||Izzat al-Nuss|—|20 November 1961|14 December 1961|||||||||
|Military||||||||||||||
||Nazim al-Qudsi|—|14 December 1961|8 March 1963||||||||||
|People's Party|The 1963 coup d'état, an event known as the March 8 Revolution, toppled Qudsi and brought the National Council for the Revolutionary Command (NCRC) to government, although real power lay with the Ba'athist Military Committee, which organized the coup.|||||||||||||
|bgcolor=#EEEEEE colspan="10"|Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024)|||||||||||||
|colspan="10"|Vacant ( – )|||||||||||||
||Lu'ay al-Atassi|—|9 March 1963|27 July 1963||||||||||
|Independent|Atassi was appointed president by the NCRC because he posed no threat to the Military Committee's power. He resigned after high-ranking non-Ba'athist officers were purged.|||||||||||||
||Amin al-Hafiz|—|27 July 1963|23 February 1966||||||||||
|Ba'ath Party|Hafiz was overthrown by the Military Committee because of his support for Michel Aflaq and the Ba'athist National Command.|||||||||||||
|colspan="10"|Vacant ( – )|||||||||||||
||Nureddin al-Atassi|—|25 February 1966|18 November 1970||||||||||
|Syrian Ba'ath Party|Atassi was overthrown when a falling out occurred between Salah Jadid, the real ruler of Syria from 1966 to 1970, and Hafez al-Assad, the Minister of Defense. Assad initiated a coup in 1970, known as the Corrective Movement.|||||||||||||
|—||Ahmad al-Khatib|—|18 November 1970|12 March 1971|||||||||
|Syrian Ba'ath Party||||||||||||||
||Hafez al-Assad|1971 1978 1985 1991 1999|12 March 1971|10 June 2000||||||||||
|Syrian Ba'ath Party|Assad died in office.|||||||||||||
|—||Abdul Halim Khaddam|—|10 June 2000|17 July 2000|||||||||
|Syrian Ba'ath Party|Khaddam constitutionally succeeded from the vice presidency, and served on an acting basis until the new confirmative referendum.|||||||||||||
||Bashar al-Assad|2000 2007 2014 2021|17 July 2000|8 December 2024||||||||||
|Syrian Ba'ath Party|Assad was overthrown during the fall of Damascus in the Syrian civil war, and fled the country to Russia.|||||||||||||
|bgcolor=#EEEEEE colspan="10"|Transitional period (2024–present)|||||||||||||
|colspan="10"|Vacant ( – )|||||||||||||
||Ahmed al-Sharaa|—|29 January 2025|Incumbent||||||||||
|Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham|Sharaa served as the country's _de facto_ leader from the overthrow of the Assad regime until his appointment as president.|||||||||||||

## Infobox (political post)

- **post**: President of Syria
- **native name**: <small></small>
- **style**: Mr. President (title), Mr President

Excellency, His Excellency

- **insignia**: Emblem of the Council of Ministers of Syria (2024–2025).svg
- **insigniacaption**: Seal of the President of Syria
- **insigniasize**: 120px
- **flagsize**: 120px
- **flagborder**: yes
- **flagcaption**: Flag of the President of Syria
- **image**: File:Ahmed al-Sharaa in November 2025.jpg
- **imagesize**: 180px
- **incumbent**: Ahmed al-Sharaa
- **incumbentsince**: 29 January 2025
- **seat**: Damascus, Syria
- **residence**: Presidential Palace, Damascus, Presidential Palace
- **deputy**: Vice President of Syria, Vice President
- **appointer**: Direct election, Popular vote
- **department**: Government of Syria, Executive branch of the Syrian Government
- **inaugural**: Subhi Barakat (Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, French Mandate)
Shukri al-Quwatli (current constitution)