Who is the president of Syria currently
Executive summary
Ahmed al‑Sharaa, leader of the rebel coalition that toppled Bashar al‑Assad in December 2024, was appointed Syria’s transitional (interim) president on 29 January 2025 and has led the interim government since, including forming a new Cabinet in March 2025 [1] [2]. Major international actors and organisations have gradually re‑engaged with the new leadership: the UN list of heads of state was updated in mid‑2025, and Western ministers and the US president have met with or hosted al‑Sharaa as sanctions were eased [3] [1] [4].
1. Who is running Syria now — a short answer
Ahmed al‑Sharaa is the current transitional president of Syria, appointed by the Syrian General Command on 29 January 2025 after serving as the country’s de‑facto leader following the fall of the Assad government in December 2024 [1] [5]. He led the rebel force—formerly associated with Hay’at Tahrir al‑Sham (HTS)—that captured Damascus and prompted Assad’s departure [1] [6].
2. How he came to power — the sequence of events
Rebel forces advanced on Damascus in early December 2024; Assad resigned and fled, leaving a power vacuum that interim authorities and a caretaker government filled. Al‑Sharaa acted as de‑facto head of state from 8 December 2024 and was formally named transitional president at a Syrian Revolution Victory Conference on 29 January 2025 [5] [7] [1].
3. What “transitional president” means in practice
The transitional presidency is framed as an interim mandate to rebuild state institutions, maintain civil peace and prepare new legal foundations. Al‑Sharaa has signed an interim constitution (ratified 13 March 2025), dissolved previous institutions such as the 2012 constitution and the old parliament, and formed a transitional cabinet as part of a declared five‑year transition [5] [2] [3].
4. International recognition and engagement — mixed but moving
International responses have shifted from isolation to cautious engagement. EU foreign ministers reportedly visited Damascus in early 2025 and major Western meetings — including a White House visit — and removals of many sanctions have followed changes in US and UN stances; the UN list of heads of state was updated to name al‑Sharaa by mid‑2025 [1] [4] [3] [8]. Governments and institutions have continued to debate legal and security implications because al‑Sharaa’s rise is tied to groups previously proscribed as terrorist organisations [1] [8].
5. The elephant in the room — HTS origins and concerns
Al‑Sharaa’s leadership traces to Hay’at Tahrir al‑Sham, an organisation that was long proscribed by the UN, US, EU and UK. That history is central to why some countries hesitated to engage and why sanctions and designations were contentious even as pragmatic diplomacy advanced; reports note HTS’s role in the offensive and the subsequent dilemma of reintegrating a group with that lineage into state structures [1] [9] [8].
6. Humanitarian and security context under the interim government
The interim authorities face severe challenges: large portions of the population are impoverished, infrastructure is battered, and reports of sectarian and communal violence persisted into 2025, including deadly incidents that attracted UN condemnation. The transitional government frames priorities as rebuilding institutions, securing civil peace and planning elections within a multi‑year horizon [2] [9] [1].
7. What the sources agree on — and where reporting diverges
Major international and mainstream outlets (BBC, Guardian, DW, UN reporting, parliamentary research briefings) concur on the basic facts: Assad fell in December 2024, al‑Sharaa became de‑facto leader and then interim president in January 2025, and a transitional constitution and cabinet followed [1] [6] [2] [3] [9]. Analysis and opinion pieces diverge sharply about al‑Sharaa’s intentions, legitimacy, and long‑term prospects — some highlighting pragmatic international outreach, others warning about HTS’s past and the limits of reform [10] [4].
8. What reporting does not say (limits of available sources)
Available sources do not mention a final, universally accepted timetable for national elections beyond statements that new elections could take years, nor do they provide a single, binding international recognition decision that settles Syria’s legal status with every state—responses remain country‑by‑country and institution‑by‑institution [1] [3]. Detailed independent verification of claims about al‑Sharaa’s past actions and the internal make‑up of the new security forces is not present across these summaries [11] [10].
9. Why this matters to readers
Who holds Syria’s presidency determines diplomatic ties, sanctions policy, reconstruction funding and security dynamics across the region. The shift from Assad’s dynasty to an interim president with HTS roots forces states to weigh counterterrorism laws against humanitarian need and geopolitical interests; that tension explains why reporting alternates between engagement narratives and warnings about legitimacy [8] [9] [4].
Sources cited in this briefing are those in the attached search set, chiefly BBC, The Guardian, DW, UN News, parliamentary briefings and contemporaneous press coverage on Ahmed al‑Sharaa’s appointment and the interim government [1] [6] [2] [8] [9] [3].