List of presidents of Syria

This is a list of presidents of Syria since the creation of the office in 1922.

Under the current constitutional declaration implemented on 13 March 2025, the president of Syria serves as both the head of state and head of government. The president directs the executive branch of the Syrian government, acts as commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces, represents the nation in international relations, and formalizes treaties with foreign countries. Since the fall of the Assad regime, Syria has been undergoing a political transition as a presidential republic, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his caretaker government, which later became the transitional government. Articles 3 and 34 of the Constitutional Declaration state that the religion of the President of the Republic is Islam, with Islamic jurisprudence as the principal source of legislation, and that in the event of a vacancy in the presidency, the Vice President shall assume the powers of the President of the Republic. As mandated by the Constitutional Declaration, al-Sharaa will serve as president for a five-year transitional period.

The Syrian presidency dates back to 1922, when French authorities established the Syrian Federation under the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon, with Subhi Bey Barakat as its president. The federation was short-lived and was replaced by the State of Syria in 1925. Barakat briefly remained president until the outbreak of the Great Syrian Revolt later that year, which led to his resignation. He was succeeded by Ahmad Nami, who served as president until his removal in 1928. In the following decades, the presidency experienced several changes in leadership, including a coup by Husni al-Za'im in March 1949 and another led by Adib Shishakli in 1951. After the 1958 referendum, Syria joined the United Arab Republic, and its president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, also became president of Syria. This union lasted three years until the 1961 coup restored Syria's independence and the 1950 constitution.

The 1963 coup d'état, carried out by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, established a one-party state. Internal power struggles within Ba'athist factions led to further coups in 1966 and 1970, the latter bringing Hafez al-Assad to power. Under Assad, Syria became a hereditary dictatorship. After his death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad succeeded him and ruled until his overthrow in 2024. Following Assad's fall, Ahmed al-Sharaa, commander of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and head of the new Syrian administration, assumed the de facto role of head of state until he was officially appointed president by the Syrian General Command during the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference in January 2025.