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
 No. Portrait Name Elected Term of office Political party Note(s) Took office Left office Time in office Syrian Arab word (1961–present) 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. — 100px Izzat al-Nuss — 20 November 1961 14 December 1961  Military 1 100px 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. Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024) Vacant ( – ) 2 100px 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. 3 100px 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. Vacant ( – ) 4 100px 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. — 100px Ahmad al-Khatib — 18 November 1970 12 March 1971  Syrian Ba'ath Party 5 100px Hafez al-Assad 19711978198519911999 12 March 1971 10 June 2000  Syrian Ba'ath Party Assad died in office. — 100px 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. 6 100px Bashar al-Assad 2000200720142021 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. Transitional period (2024–present) Vacant ( – ) 7 130x130px 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.

References