List of presidents of Syria

This is a list of presidents of Syria since 1920.

List of officeholders

Syria (1922–1958)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party		Note(s)
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
Syrian Federation (under French mandate; 1922–1925)
1		Subhi Bey Barakat صبحي بك بركات (1889–1939)	—	29 June 1922^[1]	1 January 1925	2 years, 185 days	Independent
State of Syria (under French mandate; 1925–1930)
(1)		Subhi Bey Barakat صبحي بك بركات (1889–1939)	—	1 January 1925	21 December 1925	354 days	Independent
—		François Pierre-Alype فرانسوا بيير أليب (1853–1932)	—	9 February 1926	28 April 1926	78 days	Independent
2		Ahmad Nami أحمد نامي (1873–1962)	—	28 April 1926	15 February 1928	1 year, 293 days	Independent
—		Taj al-Din al-Hasani تاج الدين الحسني (1885–1943)	—	15 February 1928	14 May 1930	2 years, 88 days	Independent
First Syrian Republic (1930–1950)
Mandatory Syrian Republic (1930–1946)
—		Taj al-Din al-Hasani تاج الدين الحسني (1885–1943)	—	14 May 1930	19 November 1931	1 year, 189 days	Independent
—		Léon Solomiac ليون سولومياك (1873–1960)	—	19 November 1931	11 June 1932	205 days	Independent
3		Muhammad Ali Bey al-Abid محمد علي بك العابد (1867–1939)	—	11 June 1932	21 December 1936	4 years, 193 days	Independent
4		Hashim al-Atassi هاشم الأتاسي (1875–1960)	—	21 December 1936	7 July 1939	2 years, 198 days	National Bloc
5		Bahij al-Khatib بهيج الخطيب (1895–1981)	—	10 July 1939	4 April 1941	1 year, 268 days	Independent
—		Khalid al-Azm خالد العظم (1903–1965)	—	4 April 1941	16 September 1941	165 days	Independent
6		Taj al-Din al-Hasani تاج الدين الحسني (1885–1943)	—	16 September 1941	17 January 1943	1 year, 123 days	Independent		Hasani died in office.^[2]
—		Jamil al-Ulshi جميل الألشي (1883–1951)	—	17 January 1943	25 March 1943	67 days	Independent
7		Ata Bey al-Ayyubi عطا الأيوبي (1877–1951)	—	25 March 1943	17 August 1943	145 days	Independent
8		Shukri al-Quwatli شكري القوّتلي (1891–1967)	—	17 August 1943	17 April 1946	2 years, 68 days	National Bloc
Independent First Syrian Republic (1946–1950)
(8)		Shukri al-Quwatli شكري القوّتلي (1891–1967)	—	17 April 1946	29 March 1949	3 years, 156 days	National Bloc / National Party		Quwatli was ousted from power on 29 March 1949 by Husni al-Za'im, his Chief of Staff.^[3]
9		Husni al-Za'im حسني الزعيم (1897–1949)	1949	30 March 1949	14 August 1949	137 days	Syrian Social Nationalist Party		Za'im was overthrown by a military coup in 1949 led by Adib Shishakli, he was later executed on the orders of the new government.^[4]
10		Sami al-Hinnawi سامي الحناوي (1898–1950)	—	14 August 1949	15 August 1949	1 day	Military
11 (4)		Hashim al-Atassi هاشم الأتاسي (1875–1960)	—	15 August 1949	5 September 1950	1 year, 21 days	People's Party
Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958)
(11) (4)		Hashim al-Atassi هاشم الأتاسي (1875–1960)	—	5 September 1950	2 December 1951	1 year, 88 days	People's Party
—		Adib Shishakli أديب الشيشكلي (1909–1964)	—	2 December 1951	3 December 1951	1 day	Syrian Social Nationalist Party
12		Fawzi Selu فوزي سلو (1905–1972)	—	3 December 1951	11 July 1953	1 year, 220 days	Military
13		Adib Shishakli أديب الشيشكلي (1909–1964)	1953	11 July 1953	25 February 1954	229 days	Arab Liberation Movement		Shishakli resigned from office because of threats of a coup in 1954.^[5] He fled the country, claiming that he did not want the country to fall into a civil war.^[5]
—		Maamun al-Kuzbari مأمون الكزبري (1914–1998)	—	25 February 1954	28 February 1954	3 days	Independent
14 (4) (11)		Hashim al-Atassi هاشم الأتاسي (1875–1960)	—	28 February 1954	6 September 1955	1 year, 190 days	People's Party
15 (8)		Shukri al-Quwatli شكري القوّتلي (1891–1967)	—	6 September 1955	22 February 1958	2 years, 169 days	National Party

United Arab Republic (1958–1961)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Gamal Abdel Nasser جمال عبد الناصر (1918–1970)	1958	22 February 1958	29 September 1961	3 years, 219 days	National Union

Syria (1961–present)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party		Note(s)
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
Syrian Arab Republic (1961–present)
—		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)^[6]	—	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 8th of March 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.^[7]
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.^[8] He resigned after high-ranking non-Ba'athist officers were purged.^[9]
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 National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.^[10]
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.^[11] Assad initiated a coup in 1970, known as the Corrective Movement.^[12]
—		Ahmad al-Khatib أحمد الخطيب (1933–1982)	—	18 November 1970	22 February 1971	96 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)
5		Hafez al-Assad حافظ الأسد (1930–2000)	1971 1978 1985 1991 1999	22 February 1971	10 June 2000	29 years, 109 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Assad died in office.^[13]
—		Abdul Halim Khaddam عبدالحليم خدام (1932–2020)	—	10 June 2000	17 July 2000	37 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)
6		Bashar al-Assad بَشَّارُ ٱلْأَسَدِ (born 1965)	2000 2007 2014 2021	17 July 2000	Incumbent	23 years, 103 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)

Timeline

See also

• President of Syria
• Vice President of Syria
• Prime Minister of Syria
  • List of prime ministers of Syria
• Speaker of the People's Assembly of Syria

References

Citations

1. Arrêtés Nos. 1, 2 & 3, Bulletin hebdomadaire des actes administratifs du Haut-Commissariat (8 October 1922), p. 268; [1].
2. Moubayed 2006, p. 345.
3. Moubayed 2006, p. 311.
4. Moubayed 2006, p. 610.
5. Moubayed 2006, p. 339.
6. "Who's who in the Arab World". 1974.
7. Moubayed 2006, p. 133.
8. Moubayed 2006, p. 175.
9. Rabinovich 1972, p. 72.
10. Seale 1990, pp. 99–101.
11. Seale 1990, pp. 142–144.
12. Seale 1990, pp. 162–163.
13. Moubayed 2006, pp. 154–155.

Bibliography

• Moubayed, Sami M. (2006). Steel & Silk: Men and Women who shaped Syria 1900–2000. Cune Press. ISBN 1-885942-40-0.
• Rabinovich, Itamar (1972). Syria Under the Baʻth, 1963–66: The Army Party Symbiosis. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-7065-1266-9.
• Seale, Patrick (1990). Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520069763.