Government & politics — Syria
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for Syria: Syrian Arab Republic
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Syrian Arab Republic
- Country Name
Syria
- Local - Long
Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah
- Local - Short
Suriyah
- Former Name
United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
- Etymology- history of name
name ultimately derived from the ancient Assyrians who dominated northern Mesopotamia, but whose reach also extended westward to the Levant; over time, the name came to be associated more with the western area
- Independence
17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
- National Holiday
Independence Day (Evacuation Day), 17 April (1946); note - celebrates the leaving of the last French troops and the proclamation of full independence
Political system
- Government Type
presidential republic; highly authoritarian regime
- Constitution
- history: several previous; latest issued 15 February 2012, passed by referendum and effective 27 February 2012; note - UN-sponsored talks, which began in late 2019 between delegates from government and opposition forces to draft a new constitution; in March 2022, the 7th round of the Syrian Consti
- tutional Committee ended in Geneva with no results amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by one third of the People’s Assembly members; following review by a special Assembly committee, passage requires at least three-quarters majority vote by the Assembly and approval by the president
- Legal System:
mixed legal system of civil and Islamic (sharia) law (for family courts)
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: vacant; former President Bashar al-ASAD was overthrown by Islamist rebels on 8 December 2024; ASAD and his family flew to Mosco
- w where they were granted political asylum head of government: Prim
- e Minister Muhammad al-BASHIR (since 8 December 2024) cabinet: Council of Mini
- sters appointed by the president election/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); the president appoints th
- e vice president and prime minister most recent election date: 26
- May 2021 election results: 2021: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 95.2%, Mahmoud Ahmad MAREI (Democratic Arab Socialist Union) 3.3%, other 1.5% 2014: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 88.7%, Hassan al-NOURI (independent) 4.3%, Maher HAJJER (independent) 3.2%, other/invalid 3.8%
- expected date of next election: 2028
- Legislative Branch:
Description
unicameral People's Assembly or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority preferential vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections
last held on 19 July 2020 (next to be held on 31 July 2024)
Election Results
- percent of vote by party - NPF 80%, other 20%
- seats by party - NPF 200, other 50;
Composition
men 224, women 26, percentage women 10.4%
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Cou
- rt (consists of 7 members) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members, including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC;
- judges serve 4-year renewable terms subordinate courts: courts of first instance; magistrates' courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court; Counterterrorism Court (established June 2012)
- Regions or States:
14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah (Latakia), Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq (Damascus), Halab (Aleppo), Hamah, Hims (Homs), Idlib, Rif Dimashq (Damascus Countryside), Tartus
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- legal parties/alliances: Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party [Bashar al-ASAD, regional secretary]
- Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th)
- Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]
- Arab Socialist Union of Syria or ASU [Safwan al-QUDSI]
- Democratic Arab Socialist Union [Hassan Abdul AZIM, general secretary]
- National Progressive Front or NPF [Bashar al-ASAD, Suleiman QADDAH] (alliance includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th)
- Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party)
- Socialist Unionist Party [Fayiz ISMAIL]
- Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr al-DIN]
- Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]
- Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP [Ali HAIDAR]
- Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL] major Kurdish political organizations: Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Saleh MUSLIM, Asia ABDULLAH]
- Kurdish National Council or KNC [Sa'ud MALA]
- Self-Administration of Northeast Syria or SANES [Abd Hamid al-MAHBASH]
- Syrian Democratic Council or SDC [Ilham AHMAD] other: Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI]
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Syria; if the father is unknown or stateless, the
- yes residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Damascus
- Capital - geographic coordinate
33 30 N, 36 18 E
- Capital Time Difference
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
International role
- International Organization Participation:
ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, ICSID, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WBG, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
- International Law Organization Participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICC
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
chief of mission
Ambassador (vacant); note - on 6 February 2012, the US suspended operations at its embassy in Damascus; Czechia serves as a protecting power for US interests in Syria mailing address: 6110 Damascus Place, Washington DC 20521-6110
Email address and website
- USIS_damascus@embassy.mzv.cz
- https://sy.usembassy.gov/
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador (vacant); note – operations at the embassy were suspended on 18 March 2014