Chief of the General Staff (Syria)

The Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces () is the professional head of the Syrian Armed Forces and the Syrian Army. The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the President of Syria, who is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

On 16 July 2025, the Israeli Air Force bombed the entrance and two of its facades to the General Staff headquarters in Damascus, amid the July 2025 southern Syria clashes.

List of officeholders Portrait Name Term of office Took office Left office Time in office 1 Major generalAbdullah Atfeh 1947 1948 years 2 Brigadier generalHusni al-Za'im 1948 1949 years 3 ColonelSami al-Hinnawi 1949 1950 years 4 Brigadier generalAnwar Bannud 2 January 1950 23 April 1951 5 Fawzi Selu 23 April 1951 1953 years 6 GeneralShawkat Shuqayr 1953 8 July 1956 years 7 GeneralTawfiq Nizam al-Din 8 July 1956 1957 years 8 Lieutenant generalAfif al-Bizri 1957 1959 years 9 GeneralJamal al-Faisal 1959 28 September 1961 years 10 GeneralAbdul Karim Zahreddine 28 September 1961 8 March 1963 11 Major generalZiad al-Hariri 8 March 1963 8 July 1963 12 Major generalSalah Jadid 11 November 1963 1966 years 13 Major generalAhmed Suwaydani February 1966 February 1968 years 14 Colonel generalMustafa Tlass 1968 1972 years 15 Colonel generalYusuf Shakkur 1972 1974 years 16 Colonel generalHikmat al-Shihabi 12 August 1974 8 July 1998 17 Lieutenant generalAli Aslan 8 July 1998 23 January 2002 18 Lieutenant generalHasan Turkmani 23 January 2002 12 May 2004 19 Colonel generalAli Habib Mahmud 12 May 2004 3 June 2009 20 Colonel generalDawoud Rajiha 3 June 2009 8 August 2011 21 Colonel generalFahd Jassem al-Freij 8 August 2011 18 July 2012 22 Lieutenant generalAli Abdullah Ayyoub 18 July 2012 1 January 2018 Vacant 23 Lieutenant general Salim Harba 1 April 2019 30 April 2022 24 Lieutenant generalAbdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim 30 April 2022 8 December 2024 Vacant 25 Major generalAli Noureddine al-Naasan 21 December 2024 Incumbent

Timeline since 1963

See also Syrian Arab Armed Forces, the combined armed forces of Ba'athist Syria

References