List of Presidents of Syria

This is a list of Presidents of Syria since 1920.

Keys

Meaning
—	Acting president.
	National Bloc
	Syrian Social Nationalist Party
	Military
	Arab Liberation Movement
	National Union
	People's Party
	Syrian Regional Branch (Ba'ath Party)
	Syrian Regional Branch (Syrian Ba'ath Party)

Presidents

№	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Political party		Note(s)
1		Subhi Barakat (1883–1939)	28 June 1922	21 December 1925	Independent		—
—	—	François Pierre-Alype (1853–1932)	9 February 1926	28 April 1926	Independent		—
2	—	Ahmad Nami (1840–1928)	28 April 1926	15 February 1928	Independent		—
—		Taj al-Din al-Hasani (1885–1943)	15 February 1928	14 May 1930	Independent		—
№	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Political party		Note(s)
—		Taj al-Din al-Hasani (1885–1943)	14 May 1930	19 November 1931	Independent		—
—	—	Léon Solomiac (1873–1960)	19 November 1931	11 June 1932	Independent		—
3		Muhammad Ali al-Abid (1867–1939)	11 June 1932	21 December 1936	Independent		—
4		Hashim al-Atassi (1875–1960)	21 December 1936	7 July 1939	National Bloc		—
5		Bahij al-Khatib (1895–1981)	10 July 1939	4 April 1941	Independent		—
—		Khalid al-Azm (1903–1965)	4 April 1941	16 September 1941	Independent		—
6		Taj al-Din al-Hasani (1885–1943)	16 September 1941	17 January 1943	Independent		Hasani died in office.[1]
—		Jamil al-Ulshi (1883–1951)	17 January 1943	25 March 1943	Independent		—
7		Ata al-Ayyubi (1877–1951)	25 March 1943	17 August 1943	Independent		—
8		Shukri al-Quwatli (1891–1967)	17 August 1943	24 October 1945	National Bloc		—
№	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Political party		Note(s)
8		Shukri al-Quwatli (1891–1967)	24 October 1945	29 March 1949	National Bloc / National Party		Quwatli was ousted from power on 29 March 1949 by Husni al-Za'im, his Chief of Staff.[2]
9		Husni al-Za'im (1897–1949)	30 March 1949	14 August 1949	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.[3]
10		Sami al-Hinnawi (1898–1950)	14 August 1949	15 August 1949	Military		—
4		Hashim al-Atassi (1875–1960)	15 August 1949	2 December 1951	National Party		—
—		Adib Shishakli (1909–1964)	2 December 1951	3 December 1951	Syrian Social Nationalist Party		—
11		Fawzi Selu (1905–1972)	3 December 1951	11 July 1953	Military		—
12		Adib Shishakli (1909–1964)	11 July 1953	25 February 1954	Arab Liberation Movement		Shishakli resigned from office because of threats of a coup in 1954.[4] He fled the country, claiming that he did not want the country to fall into a civil war.[4]
—		Maamun al-Kuzbari (1914–1998)	25 February 1954	28 February 1954	Independent		—
4		Hashim al-Atassi (1875–1960)	28 February 1954	6 September 1955	National Party		—
8		Shukri al-Quwatli (1891–1967)	6 September 1955	22 February 1958	National Party		—
№	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Political party		Note(s)
13		Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918–1970)	22 February 1958	29 September 1961	National Union		—
№	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Political party		Note(s)
—		Maamun al-Kuzbari (1914–1998)	29 September 1961	20 November 1961	Independent		—
—	—	Izzat al-Nuss (1900–1972)	20 November 1961	14 December 1961	Military		—
14		Nazim al-Kudsi (1906–1998)	14 December 1961	8 March 1963	People's Party		The 1963 Syrian coup d'état, an event known as the 8th of March Revolution, toppled Nazim al-Kudsi 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.[5]
15		Lu'ay al-Atassi (1926–2003)	9 March 1963	27 July 1963	Independent		Lu'ay al-Atassi was appointed president by the NCRC because he posed no threat to the Military Committee's power.[6] He resigned after high-ranking non-Ba'athist officers were purged.[7]
16		Amin al-Hafiz (1921–2009)	27 July 1963	23 February 1966	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Amin al-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.[8]
17		Nureddin al-Atassi (1929–1992)	25 February 1966	18 November 1970	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Nureddin al-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.[9] Assad initiated a coup in 1970.[10]
—		Ahmad al-Khatib (1933–1982)	18 November 1970	22 February 1971	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		—
18		Hafez al-Assad (1930–2000)	22 February 1971	10 June 2000	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Assad died in office.[11]
—		Abdul Halim Khaddam (1932–)	10 June 2000	17 July 2000	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		—
19		Bashar al-Assad (1965–)	17 July 2000	Incumbent	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		—

See also

• Vice President of Syria
• List of Prime Ministers of Syria
• Speaker of the People's Council of Syria

References

General

1. Moubayed 2006, p. 345.
2. Moubayed 2006, p. 311.
3. Moubayed 2006, p. 610.
4. Moubayed 2006, p. 339.
5. Moubayed 2006, p. 133.
6. Moubayed 2006, p. 175.
7. Rabinovich 1972, p. 72.
8. Seale 1990, pp. 99–101.
9. Seale 1990, pp. 142–144.
10. Seale 1990, pp. 162–163.
11. 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.
• Seale, Patrick (1990). Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520069763.