This is a list of presidents of Syria since the creation of the office in 1922. Under the current constitutional declaration implemented on 13 March 2025, the president of Syria serves as both the head of state and head of government. The president directs the executive branch of the Syrian government, acts as commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces, represents the nation in international relations, and formalizes treaties with foreign countries. Since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria has been undergoing a political transition as a presidential republic, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his caretaker government, which later became the transitional government. Articles 3 and 34 of the Constitutional Declaration state that the religion of the President of the Republic is Islam, with Islamic jurisprudence as the principal source of legislation, and that in the event of a vacancy in the presidency, the Vice President shall assume the powers of the President of the Republic. As mandated by the Constitutional Declaration, al-Sharaa will serve as president for a five-year transitional period.
The Syrian presidency dates back to 1922, when French authorities established the Syrian Federation under the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon, with Subhi Bey Barakat as its president. The federation was short-lived and was replaced by the State of Syria in 1925. Barakat briefly remained president until the outbreak of the Great Syrian Revolt later that year, which led to his resignation. He was succeeded by Ahmad Nami, who served as president until his removal in 1928. In the following decades, the presidency experienced several changes in leadership, including a coup by Husni al-Za'im in March 1949 and another led by Adib Shishakli in 1951. After the 1958 referendum, Syria joined the United Arab Republic, and its president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, also became president of Syria. This union lasted three years until the 1961 coup restored Syria's independence and the 1950 constitution.
The 1963 coup d'état, carried out by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, established a one-party state. Internal power struggles within Ba'athist factions led to further coups in 1966 and 1970, the latter bringing Hafez al-Assad to power. Under Assad, Syria became a hereditary dictatorship. After his death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad succeeded him and ruled until his overthrow in 2024. Following Assad's fall, Ahmed al-Sharaa, commander of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and head of the new Syrian administration, assumed the de facto role of head of state until he was officially appointed president by the Syrian General Command during the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference in January 2025.
List of officeholders
Syria (1922–1958) No. Portrait Name Elected Term of office Political party Note(s) Took office Left office Time in office French mandate (1922–1930) Syrian Federation (1922–1925) Position not established ( – ) 1 Subhi Bey Barakat — 29 June 1922Arrêtés Nos. 1, 2 & 3, Bulletin hebdomadaire des actes administratifs du Haut-Commissariat (8 October 1922), p. 268; . 1 January 1925 Independent State of Syria (1925–1930) (1) Subhi Bey Barakat — 1 January 1925 21 December 1925 Independent Vacant ( – ) — François Pierre-Alype — 9 February 1926 28 April 1926 Independent Acting President as Envoy Extraordinary of the High Commissioner. 2 Ahmad Nami — 28 April 1926 15 February 1928 Independent — Taj al-Din al-Hasani — 15 February 1928 14 May 1930 Independent First Syrian Republic (1930–1950) Mandatory Syrian Republic (1930–1946) — Taj al-Din al-Hasani — 14 May 1930 19 November 1931 Independent — Léon Solomiac — 19 November 1931 11 June 1932 Independent Acting President as High Commissioner. 3 Muhammad Ali Bey al-Abid 1932 11 June 1932 21 December 1936 Independent 4 Hashim al-Atassi 1936 21 December 1936 7 July 1939 National Bloc 5 Bahij al-Khatib — 8 July 1939 4 April 1941 Independent — Khalid al-Azm — 4 April 1941 16 September 1941 Independent 6 Taj al-Din al-Hasani — 16 September 1941 17 January 1943 Independent Hasani died in office. — Jamil al-Ulshi — 17 January 1943 25 March 1943 Independent 7 Ata Bey al-Ayyubi — 25 March 1943 17 August 1943 Independent 8 Shukri al-Quwatli 1943 17 August 1943 17 April 1946 National Bloc Independent First Syrian Republic (1946–1950) (8) Shukri al-Quwatli 1948 17 April 1946 30 March 1949 National Bloc Quwatli was ousted from power in the March 1949 coup d'état by Husni al-Za'im, his chief of staff. National Party Vacant ( – ) 9 Husni al-Za'im 1949 26 June 1949 14 August 1949 Independent Za'im was from 30 March 194926 June 1949 de facto leader as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces. He was overthrown in the August 1949 coup d'état led by Adib Shishakli, and was later executed on the orders of the new government. — Sami al-Hinnawi — 14 August 1949 15 August 1949 Military Acting President as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces. Vacant ( – ) (4) Hashim al-Atassi 1949 19 December 1949 5 September 1950 People's Party Head of State. During this period, Hinnawi served as the country's de facto leader (as Chairman of the Supreme Council of War) until his overthrow in the December 1949 coup d'état, led by Shishakli, who then became de facto leader as head of the Council of Colonels (later the Supreme Military Council). Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) (4) Hashim al-Atassi 1950 5 September 1950 2 December 1951 People's Party Atassi resigned in the aftermath of the 1951 coup d'état. — Adib Shishakli — 2 December 1951 3 December 1951 Syrian Social Nationalist Party Acting President as Chief of the General Staff and head of the Supreme Military Council. 10 Fawzi Selu — 3 December 1951 11 July 1953 Military After the coup the Army Command Council announced that it was collectively assuming responsibility for government, entrusted Selu with all executive and legislative powers, and dissolved the parliament. Shishakli assumed supreme command in the country and took the office of deputy chief of staff. 11 Adib Shishakli 1953 11 July 1953 25 February 1954 Arab Liberation Movement Shishakli resigned from office on 25 February or on the evening of 26 February 1954, amidst a coup d'état. He fled the country, claiming that he did not want Syria to fall into a civil war. — Maamun al-Kuzbari — 25 February 1954 28 February 1954 Arab Liberation Movement (4) Hashim al-Atassi — 28 February 1954 6 September 1955 People's Party (8) Shukri al-Quwatli 1955 6 September 1955 22 February 1958 National Party
United Arab Republic (1958–1961) No. Portrait Name Elected Term of office Political party Took office Left office Time in office United Arab Republic (1958–1961) 12 Gamal Abdel Nasser 1958 22 February 1958 28 September 1961 National Union
Syria (1961–1963) No. Portrait Name Elected Term of office Political party Note(s) Took office Left office Time in office Syrian Arab Republic (1961–1963) Vacant; military junta rule ( – ) — Maamun al-Kuzbari — 29 September 1961 20 November 1961 Independent Vacant; military junta rule ( – ) 13 Nazim al-Qudsi 1961 14 December 1961 28 March 1962 People's Party Qudsi was the last democratically elected President of Syria, taking office on 14 December 1961. He resigned on 28 March 1962 but returned to office on 2 April after the 1962 coup attempt failed. Vacant; military junta rule ( – ) (13) Nazim al-Qudsi – 2 April 1962 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) No. Portrait Name Elected Term of office Political party Note(s) Took office Left office Time in office Syrian Arab Republic (1963–2024) Vacant ( – ) 14 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. 15 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 ( – ) 16 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 country's de facto leader from 1966 to 1970 as Assistant Regional Secretary of the Regional Command, 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 Assad served as the country's de facto leader during this period, as head of the Temporary Regional Command and as Regional Secretary of the Regional Command; and from 22 February 1971 onwards additionally as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces. 17 Hafez al-Assad 19711978198519911999 12 March 1971 10 June 2000 Syrian Ba'ath Party In late 1983, due to deteriorating health, Assad transferred his powers during his absence and recovery to a committee consisting of members from his close circle.Seale, Patrick (8 February 1989). "Chapter 24: Brothers's war". Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East. University of California Press. p. 427. ISBN 978-0520069763. Assad recovered and died in office seventeen years later. — 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. 18 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) No. Portrait Name Elected Term of office Political party Note(s) Took office Left office Time in office Syrian Arab Republic (2024–present) Vacant ( – ) 19 Ahmed al-Sharaa — 29 January 2025 Incumbent Independent Al-Sharaa was appointed as president by the Syrian General Command during the transitional period at the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference.
Timeline
See also President of Syria List of heads of state of Syria Vice President of Syria Prime Minister of Syria List of prime ministers of Syria Speaker of the People's Assembly of Syria
Notes
References Citations
Bibliography