The Consulate General of Syria, Bonn is the diplomatic mission of the Syrian Arab Republic in Bonn. The Consulate General is located in the former Syrian Embassy building in Bonn’s government district, near Rheinaue Park. The building had been unused for several years. Following the fall of the Assad regime, the transitional government reopened the Syrian Consulate.
History
Diplomatic Relations and Initial Legation (1953–1961) After establishing diplomatic relations with the West Germany in 1953, Syria opened a legation at the seat of government in Bonn, which was initially housed at the former location of the Syrian Consulate General in the Cologne district of Marienburg.Adressbuch der Bundeshauptstadt Bonn 1952/53, J.F. Carthaus, Bonn 1953, S. 540.Bulletin des Presse- und Informationsamtes der Bundesregierung, Deutscher Bundes-Verlag, 1953, S. 1072. It moved shortly thereafter by 1954 to Bad Godesberg, the main hub of diplomatic missions. With the union of Syria and Egypt to form the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958, the former Syrian legation was converted into a joint embassy of both countries. After the dissolution of the union in 1961, the building no longer housed the Syrian mission but the Egyptian representation instead. Since then, the Syrian Arab Republic maintained its embassy at Villa Rheinallee 9, with a military department located in the Südstadt district.Stamm-Leitfaden durch Presse und Werbung, Stamm-Verlag, 1965, S. 191 While Syria’s diplomatic relations with the West Germany were suspended from 13 May 1965 following its recognition of Israel, the Embassy of Pakistan carried out Syria’s affairs from that location through an Interests Section of the Syrian Arab Republic.Tobias C. Bringmann: Handbuch der Diplomatie 1815–1963: auswärtige Missionschefs in Deutschland und deutsche Missionschefs im Ausland von Metternich bis Adenauer, Saur, München 2001, , S. 401.
Reopening and New Embassy in Bad Godesberg (1974–2002) With the resumption of relations on 7 August 1974, Syria reopened an embassy, which was once again based in Bad Godesberg. Initially, the embassy was headed by a legation counsellor serving as chargé d’affaires ad interim.Auswärtiges Amt (Hrsg.): Liste der diplomatischen Missionen und anderen Vertretungen in Bonn (Stand: September 1974) The embassy residence, which became the home of the ambassador, was located in the Muffendorf district.Auswärtiges Amt (Hrsg.): Liste der diplomatischen Missionen und anderen Vertretungen in Bonn (Stand: Juni 1977)Feuer in der ehemaligen syrischen Residenz, General-Anzeiger, 12. Juni 2003 In the 1980s, Syria built a new embassy near Rheinauen Park in Bonn, completed in spring 1990. Designed by N. Kasri with interiors by M. W. Seirawan and guidance from Ambassador Suleyman Haddad, it cost 14 million Deutsche Mark (about 8.3 million USD), housed 30 staff, and was the only finished embassy in the district.Michael Wenzel: Kleine Geschichte(n) Bad Godesberger Botschaften, 2. Auflage 2011, S. 66–69. In the course of the government’s move to Berlin in 1999,Reise in den Orient beginnt in der syrischen Botschaft, General-Anzeiger, 11. Juli 2008Weitere leerstehende Botschaften und Residenzen, General-Anzeiger, 15. April 2010 the Syrian embassy relocated there in March 2002.Diplomatische Missionen und konsularische Vertretungen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Stand: September 2002 (Bundesanzeiger Verlag)Noch 22 Botschaften mit erster Adresse in Bonn, General-Anzeiger, 28. November 2002 Since then, it has occasionally been used for events by the German-Syrian Society while remaining the property of Syria.Exterritoriales Gebiet, Berliner Zeitung, 21. Juli 2010Deutsch-Syrische Gesellschaft – Veranstaltungen In 2005, the Syrian government decided to set up a Consulate General as well as a Culture and Tourism Center in the building. However, the implementation of this decision was made dependent on funding from the start and has not taken place.Ein Wohnpark in Stadtnähe, Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 30. Dezember 2005
Protests, Monument Status, and Reopening of the Consulate (2011–present) Since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011, opposition supporters repeatedly demonstrated in front of the building, which was also stormed by Kurds during one such demonstration in November 2012.Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Lokalzeit aus Bonn, November 2012 In June 2017, it became known that Syria, contrary to earlier plans, intended to sell the property through a two-month bidding process.Syrien verkauft seine ehemalige Botschaft in Bonn, General-Anzeiger, 28. Juni 2017
The Rhineland-Palatinate General Directorate for Cultural Heritage has since recognized the former embassy building as a historic monument as of 2024.Angelika Schyma, Elke Janßen-Schnabel: Das ehemalige Parlaments- und Regierungsviertel in Bonn: Topografie einer Demokratie (= LVR-Amt für Denkmalpflege im Rheinland, Andrea Pufke [Hrsg.]: Arbeitshefte der Rheinischen Denkmalpflege, Band 87). Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2024, , S. 137/138.
In October 2025, a Syrian foreign ministry delegation arrived in Bonn to finalize preparations for reopening Damascus’s consulate general, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency. On 12 January 2026, Asaad al-Shaibani, the Syrian Foreign Minister, raised the new flag of the Syrian Arab Republic above the chancery to mark the Consulate-General's official reopening.
References