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.^[1]

President of Syria رئيس سوريا‎
Seal of the President of Syria
Incumbent Ahmed al-Sharaa since 29 January 2025
Executive branch of the Syrian Government
Style	Mr President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Status	Head of state Commander-in-chief
Member of	Council of Ministers High Judicial Council
Residence	Presidential Palace
Seat	Damascus, Syria
Appointer	Popular vote
Inaugural holder	Subhi Barakat (French Mandate) Shukri al-Quwatli (current constitution)
Formation	17 April 1946; 79 years ago (1946-04-17)
Deputy	Vice President

Bashar al-Assad was president for twenty-four years until being forced out of office following the success of the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives.^[2]

On 29 January 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed as the president of Syria for the transitional government.^[3][4]

List

List of heads of state of Syria

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	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 مأمون الكزبري (1914–1998)	—	29 September 1961	20 November 1961	52 days		Independent	Kuzbari took office following the 1961 coup d'état, which dissolved the United Arab Republic.
—		Izzat al-Nuss عزت النص (1912–1976)[5]	—	20 November 1961	14 December 1961	24 days		Military
1		Nazim al-Qudsi ناظم القدسي (1906–1998)	—	14 December 1961	8 March 1963	1 year, 84 days		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.[6]
Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024)
Vacant (8 March 1963 – 9 March 1963)
2		Lu'ay al-Atassi لؤي الأتاسي (1926–2003)	—	9 March 1963	27 July 1963	140 days		Independent	Atassi was appointed president by the NCRC because he posed no threat to the Military Committee's power.[7] He resigned after high-ranking non-Ba'athist officers were purged.[8]
3		Amin al-Hafiz أمين الحافظ (1921–2009)	—	27 July 1963	23 February 1966	2 years, 211 days		Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)	Hafiz was overthrown by the Military Committee because of his support for Michel Aflaq and the Ba'athist National Command.[9]
Vacant (23 February 1966 – 25 February 1966)
4		Nureddin al-Atassi نور الدين الأتاسي (1929–1992)	—	25 February 1966	18 November 1970	4 years, 266 days		Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)	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.[10] Assad initiated a coup in 1970, known as the Corrective Movement.[11]
—		Ahmad al-Khatib أحمد الخطيب (1933–1982)	—	18 November 1970	12 March 1971	114 days		Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)
5		Hafez al-Assad حافظ الأسد (1930–2000)	1971 1978 1985 1991 1999	12 March 1971	10 June 2000	29 years, 90 days		Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)	Assad died in office.[12]
—		Abdul Halim Khaddam عبدالحليم خدام (1932–2020)	—	10 June 2000	17 July 2000	37 days		Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)	Khaddam constitutionally succeeded from the vice presidency, and served on an acting basis until the new confirmative referendum.
6		Bashar al-Assad بَشَّارُ ٱلْأَسَدِ (born 1965)	2000 2007 2014 2021	17 July 2000	8 December 2024	24 years, 144 days		Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)	Assad was overthrown during the fall of Damascus in the Syrian civil war, and fled the country to Russia.[13]
Transitional period (2024–present)
Vacant (8 December 2024 – 29 January 2025)
7		Ahmed al-Sharaa أحمد الشرع (born 1982)	—	29 January 2025	Incumbent	172 days		Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham	Sharaa served as the country's de facto leader from the overthrow of the Assad regime[14] until his appointment as president.[15][16]