| President of the Syrian Arab Republic | |
|---|---|
| رئيس الجمهورية العربية السورية | |
Seal of the president of Syria
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Bashar al-Assad since 17 July 2000 | |
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| Style | Mr President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Status |
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| Member of |
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| Residence | Presidential Palace Tishreen Palace |
| Seat | Damascus, Syria |
| Appointer | Popular vote |
| Term length | Seven years, renewable once[1] |
| Inaugural holder | Subhi Barakat (French Mandate) Shukri al-Quwatli (current constitution) |
| Formation | 17 April 1946; 78 years ago (1946-04-17) |
| Deputy | Vice President |
The president of Syria (Arabic: رئيس سوريا), officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: رئيس الجمهورية العربية السورية), is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discretion to their vice presidents. They appoint and dismiss the prime minister and other members of the Council of Ministers (the cabinet) and military officers.[2] Bashar al-Assad is the 19th and current president of Syria. He entered the post on 17 July 2000. Bashar Al-Assad is the son of former president, Hafez al-Assad, who was the longest-serving president serving 29 years.
Article 88 of the 2012 constitution states that the president serves a seven year term and "can be elected for only one more successive term."[3][4] Article 155 states that Article 88 applies to the president "as of the next presidential elections."[3]
On 31 January 1973, Hafez al-Assad implemented a new constitution, which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the president of Syria must be a Muslim, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama, Homs and Aleppo organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and the ulama. They labeled Assad as the "enemy of God" and called for a jihad against his rule.[5] Robert D. Kaplan has compared Assad's coming to power to "an untouchable becoming maharajah in India or a Jew becoming tsar in Russia—an unprecedented development shocking to the Sunni majority population which had monopolized power for so many centuries."[6] The main objection to the constitution from demonstrators was that Islam was not specified as the state religion.[7] In response to riots, the Syrian Constitution of 1973 was amended to stipulate that Islam was the religion of the president.[7]
A new constitution was approved in February 2012.[8] Article 84 of Syria's 2012 constitution requires that candidates for the presidency must:[3]
Further eligibility requirements in the 2012 constitution include:[3]
Powers:[9]
Removal[9]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bashar al-Assad | Ba'ath Party | 13,540,860 | 95.19 | |
| Mahmoud Ahmad Marei | Democratic Arab Socialist Union | 470,276 | 3.31 | |
| Abdullah Sallum Abdullah | Socialist Unionist Party | 213,968 | 1.50 | |
| Total | 14,225,104 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 14,225,104 | 99.90 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 14,036 | 0.10 | ||
| Total votes | 14,239,140 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 18,107,109 | 78.64 | ||
| Source: Syrian Arab News Agency[10] | ||||
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| Syrian Federation (1922–1924) |
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| State of Syria (1925–1930) |
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| First Syrian Republic (1930–1950) |
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| Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) |
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| United Arab Republic (1958–1961) |
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| Syrian Arab Republic (1961–present) |
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* acting | |
