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Syrian transitional government
The Syrian transitional government (ٱلحُكُوَمَة ٱلانتِقَالِيَّة ٱلسُّورِيَّة, romanized: al-Ḥukūmah al-Intiqāliyyah as-Sūriyyah) is the incumbent transitional government of Syria. It was established in December 2024 by the Syrian opposition after Ahmed al-Sharaa, then Emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and de facto Syrian head of state, appointed Mohammed al-Bashir as Prime Minister, replacing Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali on 10 December. This came after the fall of the Assad regime and the exile of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On 8 December 2024, hours after the fall of Damascus, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, the outgoing prime minister and last head of government of the Ba'athist regime, agreed to lead the transitional government in a caretaking capacity.[2] He then transferred power to Mohammed al-Bashir, prime minister of the Syrian Salvation Government, two days later.[3] On 10 December, the transitional administration announced that it would remain in place until 1 March 2025, with all ministers from the Syrian Salvation Government taking up their same posts in the new transitional government.[4] On 29 January 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa was named the president of the transitional period. Sharaa stated that as president, he would form an interim legislative council to help govern until a new constitution was approved.[5] BackgroundFormationAhmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Syrian Salvation Government, stated on Telegram that Syrian public institutions would not immediately be taken over by force and would instead temporarily be held by Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali until the full political transition was completed. Al-Jalali announced in a social media video that he planned to stay in Damascus and cooperate with the Syrian people while expressing hope that Syria could become "a normal country" and begin to engage in diplomacy with other nations.[6][7] Jalali also expressed his readiness to "extend its hand" to the opposition.[8] Hadi al-Bahra, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, said that an 18-month transitional period was needed to establish "a safe, neutral, and quiet environment" for free elections. This period includes six months to draft a new constitution. This transition, according to al-Bahra, should be in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254.[9] The Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government, Mohammed Al-Bashir, was tasked on 9 December with forming the new Syrian government during the transitional period.[3] He was expected to hold the position until 1 March 2025.[10] The ministers of the Salvation Government were expected to shift to their corresponding roles in the transitional government.[11] Women in governmentThe initial prime minister and cabinet, together consisted of twelve men and no women.[12][13][14] As of 21 December 2024[update], it had extended to sixteen men and no women.[15][16][17][18] On 22 December, Aisha al-Dibs, a human rights activist, was appointed as the first woman minister in the cabinet, as Head of Women's Affairs.[19] On 30 December, Maysaa Sabreen was appointed as Syria's first female head of the Central Bank of Syria. Sabreen had been the first deputy director of the bank during the final stages of Assad's rule.[20][21] On 31 December 2024, Syrian transitional government appointed Muhsina al-Mahithawi, a Druze female activist who participated in the anti-Assad Southern Syrian protests, as the governor of Suwayda Governorate.[22] For comparison, the previous Ba'athist cabinet[23] had three female ministers, Lubanah Mshaweh, Diala Barakat, and Lamia Chakkour, out of 29 ministers. On 18 December, HTS spokesperson Obaida Arnaout gave an interview in which he stated that "the essence of women and their biological and psychological nature do not fit all positions, such as the Ministry of Defense,"[24] and, "As for women's representation in ministerial and parliamentary roles, we believe that this matter is premature and should be left to legal and constitutional experts who will work on rethinking the structure of the new Syrian state."[25] There was widespread criticism online in reaction to Arnaout's statement.[25][26] Researcher Milena Zain al-Din from Damascus University disagreed with the spokesperson's statement, stating, "We, the young women and women of Syria, are activists, politicians, human rights advocates, journalists, economists, academics, workers, and homemakers. Obeida Arnaout's rhetoric is unacceptable. The Syrian woman, who has struggled and endured alongside millions of Syrian women, is not waiting for you to choose a place or role for her that aligns with your mindset for building our nation."[24] Following the controversy of Arnaout's comments,[27] the transitional government announced the establishment of the Women's Affairs Office four days later and Aisha al-Dibs' appointment as a minister of the Offices.[19] A week later, on 29 December, al-Dibs' statements on women's rights, in which she stated that she would "not accept any opinion of feminist organizations or others that contradict the government's ideological orientation, or are incompatible with the government model" were widely criticized by Syrians.[28] In early 2025, Arnaout made another statement in an interview with a Lebanese TV channel, where he stated that, according to him, though women "certainly have the right to learn and receive education in any field", that "for women to assume judicial authority" would be placed under "closer examination and study by specialists". Having doubled down on his stance on women having "obstacles" in the form of "emotional and physiological limitations", this raised concerns that female court judges could be dismissed from their positions and forced to end their legal careers due to the fundamental restructuring of the country's legal system along HTS lines, which could forbid women from employment in the judiciary.[29] When asked about the situation, Aisha al-Dibs stated that she refuses to comment on the future role of women in the judiciary, which would be determined by a new constitution, except that Syria's future judicial system be based on Islamic law. Al-Dibs specifically rejected the notion of a secular or civilian judicial system, saying that she would "not open the way for those that disagree with her", when asked if women's rights organizations in the country would be allowed autonomy, accepting only those organizations, whose support aligns with the HTS vision for Syria.[30] PoliciesEconomic reformsThe Minister for Economy and Foreign Trade Basil Abdul Hannan stated that there were plans to shift from a rather state-controlled economic model towards a stronger free-market model and liberalization of import-export controls. Registration with the Damascus Chambers of Commerce would be considered sufficient authorization to import goods, and the previously required approvals and permissions from the Central Bank of Syria (CBS) would no longer be needed. Business leaders interviewed by Reuters described the promised changes as encouraging. The government stated that reconstruction investment was a priority, with civil war damage estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.[31] A source from the central bank and two commercial bank sources, speaking with Reuters, said that on 10 December, banks would reopen and that staff had been asked to return. In late January 2025, Basel Abdul Hannan also stated that the Interim Government was planning a shift to a "competitive free-market economy" through the abolition of regulations, mass privatization of state-owned companies and public sector cuts. The changes, described as encouraging investment and fighting corruption, were nevertheless met with protests from people who feared a 'sectarian jobs purge'.[32] The Minister for Oil and Mineral Resources told employees to return to work the same day, with Deutsche Welle stating that the ministry had added "protection would be provided to ensure their safety".[33] The Minister for Transport said that Syrian airspace would be reopened to air traffic and added that it would announce the resumption of Damascus and Aleppo international airports.[34] On 16 December the Central Bank abolished the pre-existing import financing platform and announced that importers could finance the import of materials through their sources if they did not conflict with domestic and international money-laundering laws. The CBS said importers no longer needed to visit the bank or obtain approval for importing goods and notified that exports no longer required obtaining a prior "export pledge".[35] That week it was reported that the Syrian pound had appreciated against foreign currencies; reaching 10,000 Syrian pounds to the United States dollar in some areas due to the return of displaced people in northern regions and diaspora, leading to increased amounts of foreign currency inflows. This resulted in the prices of commodities, including foodstuffs, decreasing. The Central Bank of Syria raised the buying exchange rate to 15,000 Syrian pounds to the United States dollar, 15,760.50 pounds to the Euro, and 428.97 pounds to the Turkish lira.[36] On 18 December the CBS said that ATM and electronic payment services were resumed, and directed banks to monitor withdrawal operations for what it said were temporary measures.[37] Administrative reformsThe transitional government began implementing administrative reforms immediately after taking control of Damascus. Mohammad Yasser Ghazal, a technocrat from the Syrian Salvation Government, was appointed to oversee the restructuring of the Damascus governorate, with plans to serve as city council president. The new administration began reviewing departmental functions and addressing issues of bureaucratic inefficiency inherited from the previous government.[38] Initial reforms focused on streamlining government services and addressing corruption. The transitional authorities found numerous inefficient departments and positions, including redundant administrative divisions. The new government emphasized the digitization of services, citing the example of ID processing, which they had already implemented in Idlib. They also began addressing issues of phantom jobs and systemic corruption that had developed under the previous administration, where government employees had been receiving approximately $25 per month in salary;[38] which are to be increased to SSG government minimum wages of $100.[39] The administrative transition included meetings between outgoing department heads and new officials to understand and reform existing bureaucratic structures. Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir convened meetings between SSG ministers and former regime officials to facilitate the transfer of power to the new caretaker government.[38] The transitional government includes numerous senior officials from Idlib governorate, which Reuters said raised concerns about inclusiveness from among opposition sources. Policemen from Idlib were brought to Damascus to direct traffic,[39] while on 13 December the transitional government's Military Operations Command declared a curfew in Homs Governorate.[40] In late January 2025, five interim ministers interviewed by Reuters introduced plans to, among several other measures intended to 'shrink the state', fire a third of all public sector workers, while sending others on leave while their employment status is being 're-evaluated'. The remaining state employees, however, were told that their salaries would be increased by 400%.[32] Constitutional changes and political transitionA spokesman of the transitional government speaking to Agence France-Presse said that during the government's three-month term, the constitution and parliament would remain suspended. Also, a "judicial and human rights committee" would be established to review the constitution before making amendments.[41] Al-Sharaa stated to Al Jazeera Arabic that the choices of governance will be discussed among a group of experts; then, public elections would be held to make the final choice.[42] On 29 December, Syria TV reported that preparations were underway for a National Conference of 1,200 representatives for which the date has not been decided yet. Syria TV said that during the National Conference, the constitutional drafting committee would be announced and that during the conference the People's Assembly of Syria and all armed factions including Hay'at Tahir al-Sham (HTS) would be dissolved, leading to the restructuring of a new national army.[43] Later that day, Ahmad al-Sharaa stated that elections could take up to 4 years to be organized, with the need to conduct a census beforehand.[44] On 29 January 2025, al-Sharaa was named as the President of Syria for the transitional period and announced the dissolution of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, the previously ruling party under Assad. All constituent members of the National Progressive Front, a coalition of 11 political parties and various other organizations that supported the previous government, have also been dissolved, and any attempt to reform them has been banned. Additionally, the previous parliament and constitution of Syria, having already been suspended, were now permanently dissolved.[45][46] Foreign affairs.jpg) After the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the governments of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, Italy and France resumed diplomatic missions in Syria.[48] The new government met diplomats from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the European Union in the days immediately following the fall of the al-Assad regime.[49] They met with diplomats from the United States on 20 December 2024.[50] Additionally, Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since the Six-Day War in 1967. There have been various settlement schemes in the region and it is not clear if the new Syrian government is planning to join the Abraham Accords soon.[51][52][53] Belarus, North Korea and the partially recognized state of Abkhazia evacuated their embassy personnel on 15 December 2024. It is unknown if the new Syrian government plans to restore diplomatic relations with Georgia, which were severed in 2018 under the Assad regime.[54] Ukraine plans to restore relations with Syria under the new regime, which were cut in 2022 after the previous regime recognized the quasi-states of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, which were annexed into Russia later that year.[47] The first official foreign visit of a delegation of the Interim Government was to Saudi Arabia in the first days of 2025. The Syrian interim delegation was headed by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defense, as well as the head of the General Intelligence Directorate, Anas Khattab.[55] The visit came after al-Sharaa stated in an interview for the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya that Saudi Arabia is to have a "large role in Syria's future".[56] The French and German foreign ministers visited Syria in early January 2025, where they met with al-Sharaa and expressed a will to "support Syria", but also stated that they would refuse to become "a financier of Islamist structures". They also stated that they wanted to see the Syrian Kurds, whose forces acted as French allies during the war, to be included in the political process, as well as cautioned the interim government against "acts of vengeance against groups within the population", unnecessarily delaying elections or attempts to enforce religious law within the judicial or education system.[57] During the visit, al-Sharaa shook hands with the French Jean-Noël Barrot, but avoided shaking the female German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock's hand, instead offering a small gesture on his chest.[58] This caused a small scandal, as the two ministers stood side by side as he did so. This was criticized by the former head German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Volker Perthes, according to whom the refusal of handshakes with women is uncommon in Syria's tradition and is typically only seen by very conservative Islamist figures, such as those in Iran and Saudi Arabia.[59] DefensePrime Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir has said the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.[49] Murhaf Abu Qasra (nom de guerre; Abu Hassan al-Hamawi),[60] the military commander of Tahrir al-Sham said to The Economist, "All military units will naturally transition to the ministry of defense, forming a unified army tasked with protecting the nation on behalf of all Syrians." The Economist added that "[h]e insists that there will be no place in the new Syria for jihadists eager to launch attacks".[61] Abu Qasra, speaking with AFP, said that HTS would be "among the first to take the initiative" to dissolve its armed wing for a national army;[60] on 21 December it was reported that Abu Qasra was appointed transitional Minister of Defense.[62] Three days later the transitional government announced that a meeting between opposition groups and Ahmed al-Sharaa "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defense”. The exact composition of groups to be dissolved is unclear, as groups such as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were not part of the agreement.[63] Previously, the interim authority under HTS was reported by the Institute for the Study of War in mid-December to have joined Turkey in attempting to coerce the SDF to disarm and abandon their autonomy.[64] On 29 December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the promotion of 42 individuals to the rank of Colonel, 5 to the rank of Brigadier general, and 2 to the rank of Major general in the Syrian Army to the Minister of Defence Murhaf Abu Qasra and Chief of the General Staff of the Syrian Armed Forces and Army Ali Noureddine Al-Naasan, who were both elevated to the rank of Major general.[65][66] Several foreign fighters were appointed to senior military roles. According to Reuters, the fighters were generally of Islamist Jihadist leanings, including a member of the Turkistan Islamic Party, a group listed by the UN as a terrorist organization. Reuters quoted an HTS source, according to which the promotions were a "small token of recognition for the sacrifices Islamic jihadists gave to our struggle for freedom".[67] In an interview with A Haber, Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that the Kurdish forces are the only side that didn't respond to the new administration's call to disarm and restrict arms to the authority, saying that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) haven't accepted the call to disarm yet, even though they were invited to join the new ministry of defense. Ahmed al-Sharaa also added that the new administration won't let the PKK conduct terrorist attacks against Turkey and that it'll do its best to ensure the safety of the borders with Turkey. al-Sharaa also added that the People's Defense Units (YPG) didn't respond to the calls to disarm, he also accused the PKK of exploiting the issue of the Islamic State prisons for its gain.[68] MediaThe Minister for Information Mohammad al-Omar, was quoted on the first day of 2025 by Agence France-Presse saying: "We are working to consolidate freedoms of the press and expression that were severely restricted".[69] JusticeImmediately following the Fall of Damascus, HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa vowed to "hunt down and punish" senior officials of the previous regime, who he deems to be implicated in "torturing the Syrian people". Rewards have been promised for anyone who can provide information about "officials who took part in war crimes".[70] After being declared the interim President of Syria, al-Sharaa declared that he would "pursue the criminals who shed Syrian blood and committed massacres and crimes".[71] In mid January 2025, a resurfaced video of the Interim Government's Justice Minister, Shadi al-Waisi, triggered public scandal in Syria. The video, shot in 2015, appears to show al-Waisi, then a member of the Al-Nusra Front, organizing and taking part in a public execution in Idlib of two women accused of "corruption and prostitution" under Sharia law. An Interim Government official confirmed the identity of al-Waisi in the footage, stating that “the content of the video is an enforcement of the law during a specific time and place, where the procedures were conducted in accordance with the valid laws at the time and within a procedural agreement”, adding that it "reflects a phase that has been surpassed". Several Syrian groups have called for al-Waisi to resign and be replaced as minister as a result of the video.[72][73] EducationOn 1 January 2025, the Minister for Education announced changes to the national curriculum via their official Facebook page, including the removal of all references to the Assad era from all subjects, and introducing censorship of other subjects under religious lines. Under the new curriculum, evolution and the big bang theory are slated for removal from science classes.[74][75][76] Mentions of the pre-Islamic inhabitants of Syria, such as the Arameans and Canaanites, as well as the history of the ancient gods they worshipped (via the Canaanite religion and the ancient Mesopotamian religion) have also been removed. Texts relating to the role of Syrian women in the country's history and gender equality have been deleted, while the role of the historic Palmyrene Queen Zenobia has been downplayed, having been declared a "fictional character".[76] The new curriculum includes changes to the way that Islam is presented, as according the new education minister, Nazir al-Qadri, the previous revision presented Quranic verses in a 'wrong' way. Among other changes, the phrase "Defending the nation" is to be replaced with "Defending Allah".[75] "Path to Goodness" has been changed to "Islamic Path", while "those who have are damned and have gone astray" has been changed to "Jews and Christians", a change described by CNN as part of an ultra-conservative interpretation of a Quranic verse.[74] The changes were downplayed by education minister al-Qadri, who had announced that the only instructions given were for changes that included the removal of content "glorifying the defunct Assad regime" and changing the Ba'athist-era flag with the 'revolutionary' flag. The changes were met with mixed reactions, as they indicated a shift to a more conservative Islamist-style education system.[74][75][76] MembersCaretaker Prime Minister Mohammad al-Bashir told Al Jazeera on 16 December 2024 that "for the time being" ministers from the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) would head national ministries.[77] Cooperation with other Syrian authoritiesAs of 11 December 2024[update], leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the military forces of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, were preparing for "negotiations that would create a broader-based Syrian government that is not under al-Julani's control". Leaders of the Southern Operations Room met with al-Julani on 11 December and expressed interest in "coordination", a "unified effort" and "cooperation", without stating that they would support the HTS transitional government.[88] On 18 December, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SNC), which operates the Syrian Interim Government in Turkish-occupied zones expressed its support for al-Bashir's government. The SNC called for a national conference and for the formation of a government that would be "inclusive of all groups" and "represent all Syrian components".[89] On 29 December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa stated in a televised interview that SDF forces would be integrated into Syria's Ministry of Defense and that negotiations were underway.[90] SDF said it is ready to cooperate with Sharaa to be the "nucleus of the Syrian army."[91][better source needed] On 18 January 2025, Akram Mahshoush, head of the al-Hasakah Elders Council, stated that a civilian delegation was being formed to "visit Damascus and discuss the state of civil and service institutions".[92] See also
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