List of heads of state of Syria
This is a list of Heads of state of Syria since 1920.
Mamluk Sultanate
Main page: Mamluk Sultanate
Ottoman Syria
Main page: Ottoman Syria
Military administrators
OETA South chief administrators
The area was divided into four districts: Jerusalem, Jaffa, Majdal and Beersheba, each under a military governor. Both of the first two British administrators, Generals Money and Watson, were removed by London for not favouring the Zionists over the Arabs;[1] when the OETA administration ended, Liberal party politician (and former British Home Secretary) Herbert Samuel was installed as the first civilian administrator.[1] Samuel recorded his acceptance of the role, and the end of military administration, in an often-quoted document: "Received from Major-General Sir Louis J. Bols K.C.B.—One Palestine, complete."[2]
OETA East administrators
OETA East was a joint Arab-British military administration. The Arab and British armies entered Damascus on 1 October 1918, and on 3 October 1918 Ali Rida al-Rikabi was appointed Military Governor of OETA East.[3][4] Prince Faisal son of King Hussain of Mecca entered Damascus as on 4 October and appointed Rikabi Chief of the Council of Directors (i.e. prime minister) of Syria.
The boundary definition of OETA East left uncertainties to the south and east, leading to competing claims from the Kingdom of Hejaz and Occupied Iraq respectively – see Occupation of Ma'an and Occupation of Zor for further details.
- Rida al-Rikabi (3 October 1918 – 26 November 1919)[5]
OETA North (West) administrators
- Marie Antoine Philpin de Piépape (7 Oct 1918 - 19 Nov 1918)
- Jules Camille Hamelin (19 Nov 1918 - 21 Nov 1919)
- François Georges Barb (21 Nov 1919 - 1 Sep 1920)
OETA North (Cilicia) administrators
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) |
Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | Major general Arthur Wigram Money (1866–1951) |
June 1918 | June 1919 | 1 year | ||
| 2 | Major general Harry Davis Watson (1866–1945) |
June 1919 | December 1919 | 6 months | ||
| 3 | 
|
Lieutenant general Louis Bols (1867–1930) |
January 1920 | July 1920 | 6 months | |
List of high commissioners of France in the Levant
- Syria or French Syria (1920–1946) (French Mandate of Syria)
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
|
Henri Gouraud | 9 October 1919 | 23 November 1922 | 3 years, 45 days | |
| Robert de Caix | 23 November 1922 | 19 April 1923 | 147 days | Acting | |
|
Maxime Weygand | 19 April 1923 | 29 November 1924 | 1 year, 224 days | |
|
Maurice Sarrail | 29 November 1924 | 23 December 1925 | 1 year, 24 days | |
|
Henry de Jouvenel | 23 December 1925 | 23 June 1926 | 182 days | |
|
Henri Ponsot | August 1926 | 13 July 1933 | 6 years, 11 months | |
|
Damien de Martel | 16 July 1933 | January 1939 | 5 years, 5 months | |
|
Gabriel Puaux | January 1939 | November 1940 | 1 year, 10 months | |
|
Jean Chiappe | 24 November 1940 | 27 November 1940 | 3 days | Died on flight to take office. |
|
Henri Dentz | 6 December 1940 | 14 July 1941 | 220 days | Dentz was repatriated to Metropolitan France following the Armistice of Saint Jean d'Acre. |
List of general delegates of Free France in the Levant
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
.jpg)
|
Georges Catroux | 24 June 1941 | 7 June 1943 | 1 year, 348 days | Catroux was also Chief of Free French Forces in Levant states. |
| Jean Helleu | 7 June 1943 | 23 November 1943 | 169 days | ||
|
Yves Chataigneau | 23 November 1943 | 23 January 1944 | 61 days | |
| Paul Beynet | 23 January 1944 | 1 September 1946 | 2 years, 221 days | ||
High Commissioners
Main page: High Commissioner of the Levant
- 26 Nov 1919 – 23 Nov 1922: Henri Gouraud
- 23 Nov 1922 – 17 Apr 1923: Robert de Caix (acting)
- 19 Apr 1923 – 29 Nov 1924: Maxime Weygand
- 29 Nov 1924 – 23 Dec 1925: Maurice Sarrail
- 23 Dec 1925 – 23 Jun 1926: Henry de Jouvenel
- Aug 1926 – 16 Jul 1933: Auguste Henri Ponsot
- 16 Jul 1933 – Jan 1939: Damien de Martel
- Jan 1939 – Nov 1940: Gabriel Puaux
- 24 Nov 1940 – 27 Nov 1940: Jean Chiappe (died on flight to take office)
- 6 Dec 1940 – 16 Jun 1941: Henri Dentz
- 24 Jun 1941 – 7 Jun 1943: Georges Catroux
- 7 Jun 1943 – 23 Nov 1943: Jean Helleu
- 23 Nov 1943 – 23 Jan 1944: Yves Chataigneau
- 23 Jan 1944 – 1 Sep 1946: Étienne Paul-Émile-Marie Beynet
Governors Jabal Druze State
- Amir Salim Pasha al-Atrash (1 May 1921 – 15 September 1923)
- Trenga (provisional) (September 1923 – 6 March 1924)
- Gabriel Marie Victor Carbillet (6 March 1924 – 14 October 1925), provisional to 1 October 1924
- Sultan Pasha al-Atrash (18 July 1925 – 1 June 1927), chief of state; in dissidence
- Charles Andréa (15 October 1925 – 1927)
- Marie Joseph Léon Augustin Henry (1927)
- Abel Jean Ernest Clément-Grancourt (1927–1932)
- Claude-Gabriel-Renaud Massiet (3 February 1932 – 28 January 1934)
- Justin-Antoine Devicq (1934–1935)
- Pierre-Joseph-François Tarrit (1935 – 2 December 1936)
Hatay State
Hatay State (Turkish: Hatay Devleti; French: État du Hatay; Arabic: دولة حطاي, romanized: Dawlat Ḥaṭāy), also known informally as the Republic of Hatay (Arabic: جمهورية حطاي, romanized: Jumhūriyyat Ḥaṭāy), was a transitional political entity that existed from 7 September 1938 to 29 June 1939, being located in the territory of the Sanjak of Alexandretta of the French Mandate of Syria. The state was transformed de facto into the Hatay Province of Turkey on 7 July 1939, de jure joining the country on 23 July 1939.
Alawite State
The Alawite State was run by a succession of French governors from 1920 to 1936:
- 2 September 1920 – 1921: Colonel Marie Joseph Émile Niéger (b. 1874; d. 1951)
- 1921–1922: Gaston Henri Gustave Billotte (b. 1875; d. 1940)
- 1922–1925: Léon Henri Charles Cayla (b. 1881; d. 1965)
- 1925 – 5 December 1936: Ernest Marie Hubert Schoeffler (b. 1877; d. 1952)
The Sunni landowners, primarily living in the province's cities, were supporters of Syrian unity; however, the French were supported by the rural Alawite communities to whom they catered.
In 1930 the Alawite State was renamed as the Government of Latakia, the only concession by the French to Arab nationalists until 1936.
List
| Name | Picture | Took office | Left office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heads of Government | |||||
| Muhammad Said al-Jazairi | 17 September 1918 | 30 September 1918 | |||
| Ali Rida Pasha al-Rikabi | 30 September 1918 | 5 October 1918 | |||
| Emir Faisal | 5 October 1918 | 8 March 1920 | |||
| Kingdom of Arabic Syria (1920) King | |||||
| Faisal I of Syria King |
|
8 March 1920 | 24 July 1920 | ||
| Name | Picture | Took office | Left office | Political Party | |
| State of Syria (Part of the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon) (1922–1930) | |||||
| Ali Rida Pasha al-Rikabi | 8 March 1920 | 3 May 1920 | |||
| Hashim al-Atassi | 3 May 1920 | 28 July 1920 | |||
| Subhi Bay Barakat al-Khalidi صبحي بك بركات الخالدي |
|
28 June 1922 | 21 December 1925 | Independent | |
| François Pierre-Alype (acting) |
|
9 February 1926 | 28 April 1926 | Independent | |
| Ahmad Nami أحمد نامي |
|
28 April 1926 | 15 February 1928 | Independent | |
| Taj al-Din al-Hasani تاج الدين الحسني (acting) |
|
15 February 1928 | 14 May 1930 | Independent | |
| Syrian Republic (Part of the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon) (1930–1936) | |||||
| Taj al-Din al-Hasani تاج الدين الحسني (acting) |
|
14 May 1930 | 19 November 1931 | Independent | |
| Léon Solomiac (acting) |
.svg)
|
19 November 1931 | 11 June 1932 | Independent | |
| Muhammad Ali al-Abid محمد علي العابد |
|
11 June 1932 | 27 September 1936 | Independent | |
| Syrian Republic (Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence signed but not ratified) (1936–1946) | |||||
| Muhammad Ali al-Abid محمد علي العابد |
|
27 September 1936 | 21 December 1936 | Independent | |
| Hashim al-Atassi هاسم الأتاسي (1st time) |
|
21 December 1936 | 7 July 1939 | National Bloc | |
| Bahij al-Khatib بيج الخطيب |
|
10 July 1939 | 4 April 1941 | Independent | |
| Khalid al-Azm خالد العظم (acting) |
|
4 April 1941 | 16 September 1941 | Independent | |
| Taj al-Din al-Hasani تاج الدين الحسني |
|
16 September 1941 | 17 January 1943 (died in office) |
Independent | |
| Jamil al-Ulshi جميل الألشي (acting) |
|
17 January 1943 | 25 March 1943 | Independent | |
| Ata al-Ayyubi عطا الأيوبي |
|
25 March 1943 | 17 August 1943 | Independent | |
| Shukri al-Quwatli شكري القوتلي (1st time) |
|
17 August 1943 | 17 April 1946 | National Bloc | |
| Syrian Republic (1946–1958) | |||||
| Shukri al-Quwatli شكري القوتلي (1st time) |
|
17 April 1946 | 30 March 1949 (deposed) |
National Bloc / National Party | |
| Husni al-Za'im حسني الزعيم |
|
30 March 1949 | 14 August 1949 (deposed and executed) |
Military / Syrian Social Nationalist Party | |
| Sami al-Hinnawi سامي الحناوي (acting) |
|
14 August 1949 | 15 August 1949 | Military | |
| Hashim al-Atassi هاشم الأتاسي (2nd time) |
|
15 August 1949 | 2 December 1951 | National Party | |
| Adib Shishakli أديب الشيشكلي (acting) |
|
2 December 1951 | 3 December 1951 | Military / Syrian Social Nationalist Party | |
| Fawzi Selu فوزي السلو |
|
3 December 1951 | 11 July 1953 | Military | |
| Adib Shishakli أديب الشيشكلي |
|
11 July 1953 | 25 February 1954 (deposed) |
Military / Arab Liberation Movement | |
| Maamun al-Kuzbari مأمون الكزبري (acting) |
|
26 February 1954 | 28 February 1954 | Independent | |
| Hashim al-Atassi هاشم الأتاسي (3rd time) |
|
28 February 1954 | 6 September 1955 | National Party | |
| Shukri al-Quwatli شكري القوتلي (2nd time) |
|
6 September 1955 | 22 February 1958 | National Party | |
| United Arab Republic (1958–1961) | |||||
| Gamal Abdel Nasser جمال عبد الناصر |
.jpg)
|
22 February 1958 | 29 September 1961 | National Union | |
| Syrian Arab Republic (1961–Present) | |||||
| Maamun al-Kuzbari مأمون الكزبري (acting) |
.svg)
|
29 September 1961 | 20 November 1961 | Independent | |
| Izzat an-Nuss عزت النص (acting) |
|
20 November 1961 | 14 December 1961 | Military | |
| Nazim al-Kudsi ناظم القدسي |
|
14 December 1961 | 8 March 1963 (deposed) |
People's Party | |
| Luai al-Atassi لؤي الأتاسي |
|
9 March 1963 | 27 July 1963 | Military / Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) | |
| Amin al-Hafiz أمين الحافظ |
|
27 July 1963 | 23 February 1966 (deposed) |
Military / Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) | |
| Nureddin al-Atassi نور الدين الأتاسي |
|
25 February 1966 | 18 November 1970 (deposed) |
Military / Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) | |
| Ahmad al-Khatib أحمد الخطيب (acting) |
|
18 November 1970 | 22 February 1971 | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) | |
| Hafez al-Assad حافظ الأسد |
22 February 1971 | 10 June 2000 (died in office) |
Military / Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) (National Progressive Front) | ||
| Abdul Halim Khaddam عبد الحليم خدام (acting) |
|
10 June 2000 | 17 July 2000 | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) (National Progressive Front) | |
| Bashar al-Assad بشار الأسد |
.jpg)
|
17 July 2000 | 8 December 2024 | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) (National Progressive Front) | |
| Abu Mohammad al-Julani | 
|
8 December 2024 | Incumbent | Tahrir al-Sham | |
List of officeholders
Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958)
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Political party | President(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1 | Maamun al-Kuzbari مأمون الكزبري (1914–1998) |
25 February 1952 | 28 February 1954 | 2 years, 3 days | Arab Liberation Movement | Fawzi Selu | ||
| Adib Shishakli | ||||||||
United Arab Republic (1958–1961)
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Political party | President(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 2 | 
|
Sabri al-Asali صبري العسلي (1903–1976) |
7 March 1958 | 7 October 1958 | 214 days | National Party | Gamal Abdel Nasser | |
|
Akram al-Hawrani أَكْرَم الْحَوْرَانِي (1912–1996) |
7 March 1958 | 19 September 1960 | 2 years, 196 days | Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
|||
|
Abdel Latif Boghdadi عبد اللطيف البغدادي (1917–1999) |
7 March 1958 | 29 September 1961 | 3 years, 206 days | National Union | |||
|
Abdel Hakim Amer عبد الحكيم عامر (1919–1967) |
7 March 1958 | 29 September 1961 | 3 years, 206 days | National Union | |||
| 3 | .jpg)
|
Nur al-Din Kahala نور الدين كحالة (1908–1965) |
20 September 1960 | 29 September 1961 | 1 year, 9 days | National Union | ||
| 4 | 
|
Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj عبد الحميد السراج (1925–2013) |
16 August 1961 | 29 September 1961 | 44 days | National Union | ||
|
Kamal el-Din Hussein كمال الدين حسين (1921–1999) |
16 August 1961 | 29 September 1961 | 44 days | National Union | |||
|
Zakaria Mohieddin زكريا محيي الدين (1918–2012) |
16 August 1961 | 29 September 1961 | 44 days | National Union | |||
|
Hussein el-Shafei حسين محمود حسن الشافعي (1918–2005) |
16 August 1961 | 29 September 1961 | 44 days | National Union | |||
Syrian Arab Republic (1961–2024)[7]
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Political party | President(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 5 | 
|
Muhammad Umran محمد عمران (1922–1972) |
8 March 1963 | 15 December 1964 | 1 year, 282 days | Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
Lu'ay al-Atassi | |
| Amin al-Hafiz | ||||||||
| 6 |
|
Nureddin al-Atassi نور الدين الأتاسي (1929–1992) |
15 December 1964 | 28 December 1965 | 1 year, 13 days | Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
||
| 7 | 
|
Shibli al-Aysami شبلي العيسمي (1925–2011) |
28 December 1965 | 23 February 1966 | 57 days | Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
||
| 8 | 
|
Mahmoud al-Ayyubi محمود الأيوبي (1932–2013) |
22 February 1971 | 7 August 1976 | 5 years, 5 months | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
Hafez al-Assad | |
| 9 | 
|
Rifaat al-Assad رِفْعَتُ ٱلْأَسَدِ (born 1937) |
11 March 1984 | 8 February 1998 | 13 years, 334 days | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
||
.jpg)
|
Abdul Halim Khaddam عبدالحليم خدام (1932–2020) |
11 March 1984 | 6 June 2005 | 21 years, 87 days | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
Hafez al-Assad Bashar al-Assad | ||
.jpg)
|
Zuhair Masharqa زهير مشارقة (1938–2007) |
11 March 1984 | 21 February 2006[8] | 21 years, 347 days | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
|||
| 10 | 
|
Farouk al-Sharaa فاروق الشرع (born 1938) |
21 February 2006 | 19 July 2014[9] | 8 years, 148 days | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
Bashar al-Assad | |
| 11 |
|
Najah al-Attar نجاح العطار (born 1933) |
23 March 2006 | 8 December 2024 | 18 years, 260 days | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
||
| 12 | .jpg)
|
Faisal Mekdad فيصل المقداد (born 1954) |
23 September 2024 | 8 December 2024 | 76 days | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
||
General Secretary of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party (1963-2024)
The General Secretary of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party was the most powerful ocupation in Syria from 9 March 1963 to 18 November 1970
| # | Name | Picture | Took office | Left office | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michel Aflaq ميشيل عفلق |
|
9 March 1963 | April 1965 | Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
| 2 | Munif al-Razzaz منيف الرزاز |
|
April 1965 | 25 February 1966 | Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
| 3 | Nureddin al-Atassi نور الدين الأتاسي (de jure) |
|
25 February 1966 | 18 November 1970 | Military / Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
| Salah Jadid صلاح جديد (de facto) |
| ||||
| 4 | Hafez al-Assad حافظ الأسد |
18 November 1970 | 10 June 2000 (died in office) |
Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) (National Progressive Front) | |
| 5 | Hafez al-Assad حافظ الأسد (de jure) |
10 June 2000 | 8 December 2024 | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) (National Progressive Front) | |
| Abdullah al-Ahmar عبدالله الأحمر (de facto) |
Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the Ba'ath Party (1963-2024)
The Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the Ba'ath Party is the most powerful ocupation in Syria since 18 November 1970
| # | Name | Picture | Took office | Left office | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hammud al-Shufi حمود آل الشوفي |
|
9 March 1963 | 1964 | Military / Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
| 2 | Amin al-Hafiz أمين الحافظ |
|
1964 | 27 May 1964 | Military / Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
| 3 | Shibli al-Aisami |
|
27 May 1964 | 1965 | Military / Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
| (2) | Amin al-Hafiz أمين الحافظ |
|
1965 | 25 February 1966 | Military / Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
| 4 | Nureddin al-Atassi نور الدين الأتاسي |
|
25 February 1966 | 18 November 1970 (deposed) |
Military / Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) |
| 5 | Hafez al-Assad حافظ الأسد |
18 November 1970 | 10 June 2000 (died in office) |
Military / Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) (National Progressive Front) | |
| 6 | Bashar al-Assad بشار الأسد |
|
10 June 2000 | 8 December 2024 | Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region) (National Progressive Front) |
See also
References
Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fieldhouse, D. K. (6 April 2006). Western Imperialism in the Middle East 1914-1958. OUP Oxford. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-19-153696-0.
- ↑ Template:Cite ODNB
- ↑ Watson, William E. (2003). Tricolor and Crescent: France and the Islamic World. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 53–. ISBN 978-0-275-97470-1.
- ↑ Tauber, Eliezer (5 March 2014). The Arab Movements in World War I. Routledge. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-135-19978-4.
- ↑ Tauber, Eliezer (13 September 2013). The Formation of Modern Iraq and Syria. Routledge. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-135-20118-0.
- ↑ Macmunn & Falls 1930, p. 623.
- ↑ Commins, David; Lesch, David W. (5 December 2013). Historical Dictionary of Syria. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810879669.
- ↑ Commins, David Dean; Lesch, David W. (2014). Historical dictionary of Syria (Third ed.). Lanham (Md.): The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7966-9.
- ↑ "Syria's Assad reappoints woman VP but mum on Sharaa". 20 July 2014.