Constitutional Duties and Responsibilities
Under Syria’s Constitutional Declaration of March 13, 2025, the President serves as both Head of State and Head of Government, making the office the nation’s chief executive authority during the transitional period. The Presidency is responsible for ensuring continuity of government, directing national policy, safeguarding Syria’s sovereignty, and supervising the reconstruction of the Syrian state.¹
Chief Executive
The President directs the executive branch, oversees the implementation of national policy, supervises ministries and executive agencies, appoints senior government officials, and ensures the effective administration of government programs.²
Commander-in-Chief
The President exercises civilian authority over the Syrian Armed Forces and is responsible for national defense, military readiness, border security, intelligence coordination, and the continued integration and modernization of Syria’s security institutions.³
Chief Diplomat
As Syria’s principal representative in international affairs, the President directs foreign policy, appoints ambassadors, negotiates treaties and international agreements, and represents the Republic in regional and international organizations. Restoring Syria’s diplomatic standing remains one of the administration’s highest priorities.⁴
Head of Government
The President appoints and supervises the Council of Ministers, coordinates cabinet policy, establishes national priorities, and directs implementation of reconstruction and economic recovery programs.⁵
Guardian of the Constitutional Transition
The Presidency oversees implementation of the Constitutional Declaration while supporting development of permanent constitutional institutions, representative government, judicial independence, and the rule of law. The transition from emergency governance to a durable constitutional system remains one of the office’s defining responsibilities.⁶
Leader of National Reconstruction
The President directs Syria’s reconstruction strategy, promotes economic modernization, encourages domestic and foreign investment, rebuilds critical infrastructure, and works to restore public confidence in national institutions after more than a decade of conflict.⁷
JaFaJ Assessment
The Syrian Presidency is currently one of the most demanding executive offices in the Middle East. President Ahmed al-Sharaa must simultaneously govern, rebuild state institutions, restore economic growth, strengthen national security, oversee constitutional reform, and rebuild Syria’s international relationships. **His long-term success will be measured less by the authority he exercises today than by the institutions he leaves behind for future generations.**⁸
FOOTNOTES
- Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic (Damascus: Transitional Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, March 13, 2025), Preamble and arts. 1–12.
- Ibid., arts. 13–24.
- Ibid., arts. 25–32; International Crisis Group, What Lies in Store for Syria as a New Government Takes Power? Middle East Briefing No. 96 (Brussels: International Crisis Group, April 2025).
- Reuters, “Syria’s President al-Sharaa Forms New Transitional Government,” March 29, 2025; U.S. Department of State, Integrated Country Strategy: Syria (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2025).
- Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic, arts. 33–42.
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Syria’s Political Transition: Challenges for the New Government (Washington, DC: CSIS, 2025); Carnegie Middle East Center, Rebuilding Syria’s Institutions after Assad (Beirut: Carnegie Middle East Center, 2025).
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Syria: Reconstruction and Recovery Framework (New York: UNDP, 2025); World Bank, Syria Economic Monitor: Charting a Path toward Recovery (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025).
- JaFaJ Research & Intelligence Division, analytical assessment based on sources cited in this briefing.
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Syrian Arab Republic: Humanitarian Needs and Response Overview 2026 (New York: United Nations, 2026).
- Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic; CSIS, Syria’s Political Transition.
- World Bank, Syria Economic Monitor; International Monetary Fund, Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia (Washington, DC: IMF, October 2025).
- UNDP, Syria: Reconstruction and Recovery Framework; OCHA, Humanitarian Needs and Response Overview 2026.
- International Crisis Group, What Lies in Store for Syria as a New Government Takes Power?
- Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2026: Syria (Washington, DC: Freedom House, 2026); Amnesty International, Syria 2025/26 (London: Amnesty International, 2026).
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Syria Regional Refugee Response (Geneva: UNHCR, 2026); Carnegie Middle East Center, Rebuilding Syria’s Institutions after Assad.
- UNHCR, Syria Regional Refugee Response; OCHA, Humanitarian Needs and Response Overview 2026.
- European Union External Action Service, “Council Conclusions on Syria,” Brussels, 2025; Reuters, regional diplomatic reporting, 2025–2026.
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), States of Fragility 2025 (Paris: OECD Publishing, 2025); World Bank, Syria Economic Monitor.
- CSIS, Syria’s Political Transition; Chatham House, Syria’s Transition: Governance, Reconstruction and Regional Security (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2025).
- JaFaJ Research & Intelligence Division, analytical assessment based upon the Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic and the sources cited above.