The Syrian transitional government, also known as the Ahmed al-Sharaa government, is the current provisional government of Syria. It was established on 29 March 2025 under President Ahmed al-Sharaa and is set to serve for a five-year transitional period under the Constitutional Declaration, which establishes a presidential system. As president, al-Sharaa has the authority to appoint and dismiss ministers and accept their resignations. The government succeeded the Syrian caretaker government, which was headed by Mohammed al-Bashir during the period when al-Sharaa served as Syria's de facto leader and held authority over the caretaker government before his appointment as president.
The government was announced by Ahmed al-Sharaa at a ceremony at the People's Palace in Damascus, where the new ministers were sworn in and delivered speeches outlining their agendas. Two new ministries were formed: the Ministry of Sports and Youth and Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management. The position of Prime Minister was abolished. The Ministry of Energy was formed from the mergers of the Ministry of Electricity, the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Water Resources, while the Ministry of Economy and Industry was formed from the mergers of the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection and the Ministry of Industry. On 9 May 2026, as part of a partial government reshuffle, al-Sharaa appointed Khaled Fawaz Zaarour and Basel al-Suweydan as the Ministers of Information and Agriculture, replacing Hamza al-Mustafa and Amjad Badr respectively. On 19 October 2026, as al-Sharaa appointed Basel Abdul Hannan as the Minister of Industry, Internal Trade and Consumer Protection.
Background
The 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, codenamed "Deterrence of Aggression", were led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and supported by allied Turkish-backed groups in the Syrian National Army. These offensives resulted in the rapid fall of Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship, ending five decades of Assad family rule that began when Hafez al-Assad assumed power in 1970 under the Ba'ath Party following a coup d'état.
After the fall of the Assad regime, Bashar al-Assad's ninth prime minister, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, remained in his post in a caretaker capacity with the support of the opposition and Ahmed al-Sharaa until the formation of the caretaker government, which was led by Mohammed al-Bashir. On 12 February 2025, two major organizations of the former Syrian opposition, the Syrian National Coalition and the Syrian Negotiation Commission, announced their allegiance to the caretaker government. On 11 March 2025, al-Sharaa signed an agreement with Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to incorporate SDF-controlled institutions into the state, establish border crossings, and pledge to fight the remnants of the Assad regime. The deadline for the merger was set for the end of 2025.
The government implemented the Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic, a provisional constitution ratified by al-Sharaa on 13 March 2025, establishing the basic law of Syria for a five-year transition period from 2025 to 2030. The Constitutional Declaration sets a presidential system with the executive power at the hands of the president who appoints the ministers, without the position of prime minister.
The government was announced by Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, in which the new ministers were sworn in and delivered speeches outlining their agendas. Two new ministries were formed: the Ministry of Sports and Youth and Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management. The post of prime minister was abolished.
Four of the new ministers belonged to minority ethnic groups or religions: Yaarub Bader, an Alawite; Amjad Badr, a Druze; Hind Kabawat, a Christian; and Mohammad Abdul Rahman Tarkou, a Kurd. The government also included figures from different groups of the former Syrian opposition: during the civil war, Mohammed Abu al-Khair Shukri was a member of the Syrian National Coalition, Raed al-Saleh was director of the White Helmets and Hind Kabawat served as deputy head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission in Geneva. The new government was described by some observers as technocratic, with "ministers chosen according to their competences" by President al-Sharaa.
Al-Sharaa also retained Asaad al-Shaibani as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and Murhaf Abu Qasra as Minister of Defense.
Policies
Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that the new government will reform the energy sector for sustainability and reliable electricity, support farmers to ensure food production, revive the industry, protect national products, attract investment, stabilize the economy, strengthen the Syrian pound, and prevent financial manipulation.
On 16 April, 2025, Syria's minister of the interior, Anas Khattab, announced that government forces had successfully thwarted an attempted coup by officers loyal to the old regime and that the government would create mechanisms to identify those responsible. The announcement came as part of an increased network of collaboration between the new various security apparatus, from police to military to intelligence. According to Khattab, security forces had been tipped off to the plot, and were able to launch an operation to disrupt it before it could be executed, although exact details of who specifically was involved are scarce.
Domestic policies
In January 2026, al-Sharaa declared a ceasefire between government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces. He also recognised Kurdish as one of Syria's national languages and announced the restoration of citizenship to Kurdish Syrians. That same month, interior minister Anas Khattab ordered implementation of the citizenship measure, including for Kurds registered as stateless. The ministry set 5 February as the deadline for the implementation. The measure also directed the state to protect Kurdish culture and language in Syria, and to support Kurdish-language instruction in public and private schools in Kurdish-majority areas.
Foreign affairs
On 10 April 2025, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul visited Damascus and met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. During the meeting, both sides signed a formal agreement to establish diplomatic relations, which included plans to open embassies and exchange diplomatic missions. The agreement made Syria the last United Nations member state, outside of North Korea, to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea.
On 18 April, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with al-Sharaa in Damascus, his first visit to Syria since 2009. They discussed strengthening bilateral ties and regional developments, including Gaza and the two-state solution, and agreed to form joint committees for cooperation.
On 7 May 2025, Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Emmanuel Macron in France. It was his first official visit to a Western country since becoming president. On 14 May, he met with U.S. president Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia, marking the first meeting between American and Syrian heads of state since Bill Clinton and Hafez al-Assad convened in Geneva in 2000. Since then, a number of Western governments have lifted the sanctions on Syria, most notably the United States and the United Kingdom.
On 15 May, al-Shaibani held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Antalya, Turkey. The meeting took place two days after Trump announced his decision to lift the sanctions on Syria and initiate normalization of bilateral relations. On 23 May, the Trump administration lifted a wide range of sanctions on Syria. On 30 June, Trump signed an executive order lifting sanctions imposed by the United States against Syria except those linked to the Assad family and their associates and related institutions.
On 9 January 2026, during a historic visit to Damascus, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with President al-Sharaa and announced a substantial financial assistance package of approximately €620 million to be disbursed in 2026 and 2027. This visit marked a significant shift in EU-Syria relations following the fall of the Ba'athist-led regime in late 2024. During her stay, von der Leyen described the ongoing clashes in Aleppo between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led SDF as "worrying".
Later that month in Moscow, al-Sharaa and Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed Syria's future and Russia's military presence in the country, as Russia sought to maintain ties with the transitional government after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Members
Advisors
On 5 April 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa appointed his brother Maher al-Sharaa as Secretary-General to the Presidency, succeeding Abdul Rahman Salama. The position of Secretary-General was reportedly regarded as a high-ranking post within the Syrian state. According to reports, the appointment was seen as nepotistic. On 9 May 2026, he was replaced by former Homs Governor Abdul Rahman al-Aama as Secretary-General. Al-Aama was appointed through a presidential decree issued by Ahmed al-Sharaa. Abdul Rahim Attoun, who served as the head of the HTS sharia council, was appointed head of the Advisory Office for Religious Affairs at the Presidency of the Republic.
It is reported that Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan is the media advisor to President al-Sharaa. Ali Keda was appointed as the Assistant Secretary-General of the Presidency on 26 May 2025.
On 27 August 2026, al-Sharaa appointed Mazloum Abdi, the former commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, as Adviser to the Presidency of the Republic. On 18 October 2026, al-Sharaa appointed Omar Samer al-Halabi as Adviser for Economic Affairs to the Presidency of the Republic, alongside as a member of the Supreme Council for Economic Development and as chairman of the board of directors of the Sovereign Fund.
Commissions
Justice
On 17 May 2025, al-Sharaa signed Presidential Decrees No. 19 and No. 20, appointing Abdulbaset Abdullatif and Mohammad Reda Jalkhi as heads of the commission. They were given 30 days to form a working team and draft the internal regulations required for the commission's operation, leading to the establishment of the National Commissions for the Missing and Transitional Justice.
Reactions
Domestic
The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has since said it will not adhere to the decisions of the newly-formed government, alleging that its composition allowed a single faction to maintain control and did not represent the diversity of Syria.
Sheikh Hammoud al-Hinnawi, a prominent Druze community leader, welcomed the formation of the new Syrian government, commending the conciseness and conduct of the ministers' speeches.