List of prime ministers of Syria

This article lists the prime ministers of Syria since 1920.

List of officeholders

•   Acting
•   National Bloc
•   Syrian Social Nationalist Party
•   National Party
•   Military
•   Arab Liberation Movement
•   National Union
•   People's Party
•   Syrian Regional Branch (Ba'ath Party / Syrian Ba'ath Party)

Kingdom of Syria (1920)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political Party		Notes
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Rida Pasha al-Rikabi (1864–1943)	9 March 1920	3 May 1920	55 days	Independent		Previously Military Governor in the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (1 Oct 1918 – 14 Dec 1919)
—		Hashim al-Atassi (1875–1960)	3 May 1920	25 July 1920	83 days	Independent		—
2		Alaa al-Din al-Durubi (1870–1920)	25 July 1920	20 August 1920	26 days	Independent		—
3		Jamil al-Ulshi (1883–1951)	6 September 1920	30 November 1920	85 days	Independent		—

State of Syria, part of the French Mandate (1924–1930)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political Party		Notes
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
4		Subhi Barakat (1889–1939)	26 January 1925	21 December 1925	329 days	Independent		—
—		Taj al-Din al-Hasani (1885–1943)	29 December 1925	6 January 1926	8 days	Independent		—
5		Ahmad Nami (1873–1962)	27 April 1926	9 February 1928	1 year, 288 days	Independent		—
6		Taj al-Din al-Hasani (1885–1943)	15 April 1928	14 May 1930	2 years, 29 days	Independent		—

Syrian Republic, part of the French Mandate (1930–1945)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political Party		Notes
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
6		Taj al-Din al-Hasani (1885–1943)	14 May 1930	19 November 1931	1 year, 189 days	Independent		—
7		Haqqi al-Azm (1864–1955)	7 June 1932	16 March 1934	1 year, 282 days	Independent		—
8		Taj al-Din al-Hasani (1885–1943)	16 March 1934	22 February 1936	1 year, 343 days	Independent		—
9		Ata al-Ayyubi (1877–1951)	22 February 1936	21 December 1936	303 days	Independent		—
10		Jamil Mardam Bey (1894–1960)	21 December 1936	18 February 1939	2 years, 59 days	National Bloc		—
11		Lutfi al-Haffar (1885–1968)	23 February 1939	13 March 1939	18 days	National Bloc		—
12		Nasuhi al-Bukhari (1881–1961)	6 April 1939	9 July 1939	94 days	Independent		—
13		Khalid al-Azm (1903–1965)	4 April 1941	21 September 1941	170 days	Independent		—
14		Hassan al-Hakim (1886–1982)	21 September 1941	19 April 1942	210 days	Independent		—
15		Husni al-Barazi (1895–1975)	19 April 1942	10 January 1943	266 days	Independent		—
16		Jamil al-Ulshi (1883–1951)	10 January 1943	25 March 1943	74 days	Independent		—
17		Ata al-Ayyubi (1877–1951)	25 March 1943	17 August 1943	145 days	Independent		—
18		Saadallah al-Jabiri (1891–1948)	19 August 1943	14 October 1944	56 days	National Bloc		—
19		Fares al-Khoury (1877–1962)	14 October 1944	1 October 1945	352 days	National Bloc		—
20		Saadallah al-Jabiri (1891–1948)	1 October 1945	24 October 1945	23 days	National Bloc		—

Syrian Republic (1945–1958)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political Party		Notes
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
20		Saadallah al-Jabiri (1891–1948)	24 October 1945	16 December 1946	1 year, 53 days	National Bloc		—
—		Khalid al-Azm (1903–1965)	16 December 1946	29 December 1946	13 days	Independent		—
21		Jamil Mardam Bey (1894–1960)	29 December 1946	17 December 1948	1 year, 354 days	National Bloc		—
22		Khalid al-Azm (1903–1965)	17 December 1948	30 March 1949	103 days	Independent		—
23		Husni al-Za'im (1897–1949)	17 April 1949	26 June 1949	70 days	Syrian Social Nationalist Party		—
24		Muhsin al-Barazi (1904–1949)	26 June 1949	14 August 1949	49 days	Independent		—
25		Hashim al-Atassi (1875–1960)	17 August 1949	24 December 1949	129 days	National Party		—
26		Nazim al-Kudsi (1906–1998)	24 December 1949	27 December 1949	3 days	People's Party		—
27		Khalid al-Azm (1903–1965)	27 December 1949	4 June 1950	159 days	Independent		—
28		Nazim al-Kudsi (1906–1998)	4 June 1950	27 March 1951	296 days	People's Party		—
29		Khalid al-Azm (1903–1965)	27 March 1951	9 August 1951	135 days	Independent		—
30		Hassan al-Hakim (1886–1982)	9 August 1951	13 November 1951	96 days	Independent		—
—		Zaki al-Khatib (1887–1961)	13 November 1951	28 November 1951	15 days	People's Party		—
31		Maarouf al-Dawalibi (1909–2004)	28 November 1951	29 November 1951	1 day	People's Party		—
32		Fawzi Selu (1905–1972)	3 December 1951	19 July 1953	1 year, 228 days	Military		Selu had no power, real power laid in the hands of Adib Shishakli.
33		Adib Shishakli (1909–1964)	19 July 1953	25 February 1954	221 days	Arab Liberation Movement		Shishakli resigned from office because of threats of a coup in 1954. He fled the country, claiming that he did not want the country to fall into a civil war.
34		Sabri al-Asali (1903–1976)	1 March 1954	19 June 1954	110 days	National Party		—
35		Said al-Ghazzi (1893–1967)	19 June 1954	3 November 1954	137 days	Independent		—
36		Fares al-Khoury (1877–1962)	3 November 1954	13 February 1955	102 days	People's Party		—
37		Sabri al-Asali (1903–1976)	13 February 1955	13 September 1955	212 days	National Party		—
38		Said al-Ghazzi (1893–1967)	13 September 1955	14 June 1956	275 days	Independent		—
39		Sabri al-Asali (1903–1976)	14 June 1956	22 February 1958	1 year, 253 days	National Party		—

United Arab Republic (1958–1961)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political Party
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
40		Nur al-Din Kahala (1908–1965)	7 October 1958	20 September 1960	1 year, 349 days	National Union
41		Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj (1925–2013)	20 September 1960	16 August 1961	330 days	National Union

Syrian Arab Republic (1961–present)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political Party		Government	Notes
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
42		Maamun al-Kuzbari (1914–1998)	29 September 1961	20 November 1961	52 days	Independent		al-Kuzbari	Kuzbari took office following the 1961 coup d'état, which dissolved the United Arab Republic.
43		Izzat al-Nuss (1912–1976)	20 November 1961	14 December 1961	24 days	Military		al-Nuss
44		Maarouf al-Dawalibi (1909–2004)	22 December 1961	28 March 1962	96 days	People's Party		al-Dawalibi
45		Bashir al-Azma (1910–1992)	16 April 1962	14 September 1962	151 days	Independent		al-Azma
46		Khalid al-Azm (1903–1965)	17 September 1962	9 March 1963	173 days	Independent		al-Azm	The 1963 coup d'état, an event known as the 8th of March Revolution, toppled Khalid al-Azm and brought the National Council for the Revolutionary Command (NCRC) to government, although real power lay with the Ba'athist Military Committee, which organized the coup.
47		Salah al-Din al-Bitar (1912–1980)	9 March 1963	11 May 1963	63 days	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Bitar I
—		Sami al-Jundi (1921–1996)	11 May 1963	13 May 1963	2 days	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Bitar I
(47)		Salah al-Din al-Bitar (1912–1980)	13 May 1963	11 November 1963	182 days	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Bitar II
48		Amin al-Hafiz (1921–2009)	12 November 1963	13 May 1964	183 days	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Hafiz I
49		Salah al-Din al-Bitar (1912–1980)	14 May 1964	3 October 1964	142 days	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Bitar III
50		Amin al-Hafiz (1921–2009)	4 October 1964	22 September 1965	353 days	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Hafiz II
51		Yusuf Zuayyin (1931–2016)	22 September 1965	21 December 1965	90 days	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Zuayyin I
52		Salah al-Din al-Bitar (1912–1980)	1 January 1966	23 February 1966	53 days	Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Bitar IV	Salah al-Din al-Bitar was overthrown by the Military Committee because of his support for Michel Aflaq and the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.
53		Yusuf Zuayyin (1931–2016)	1 March 1966	29 October 1968	2 years, 242 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Zuayyin II
54		Nureddin al-Atassi (1929–1992)	29 October 1968	18 November 1970	2 years, 20 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Atassi	Nureddin al-Atassi was overthrown when a falling out occurred between Salah Jadid, the real ruler of Syria from 1966 to 1970, and Hafez al-Assad, the Minister of Defense. Assad initiated the Corrective Movement in 1970.
55		Hafez al-Assad (1930–2000)	21 November 1970	3 April 1971	133 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Assad
56		Abdul Rahman Khleifawi (1930–2009)	3 April 1971	21 December 1972	1 year, 262 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Khleifawi I
57		Mahmoud al-Ayyubi (1932–2013)	21 December 1972	7 August 1976	3 years, 230 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Ayyubi
58		Abdul Rahman Khleifawi (1930–2009)	7 August 1976	27 March 1978	1 year, 232 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Khleifawi II
59		Muhammad Ali al-Halabi (1937–2016)	27 March 1978	9 January 1980	1 year, 288 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Halabi
60		Abdul Rauf al-Kasm (1932–)	9 January 1980	1 November 1987	7 years, 296 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Kasm
61		Mahmoud Zuabi (1935–2000)	1 November 1987	13 March 2000	12 years, 133 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Zuabi
62		Muhammad Mustafa Mero (1941–2020)	13 March 2000	10 September 2003	3 years, 181 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Mero I–II
63		Muhammad Naji al-Otari (1944–)	10 September 2003	14 April 2011	7 years, 216 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Naji al-Otari
64		Adel Safar (1953–)	14 April 2011	23 June 2012	1 year, 70 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Safar
65		Riyad Farid Hijab (1966–)	23 June 2012	6 August 2012	44 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Hijab	Defected to the Syrian opposition
—		Omar Ibrahim Ghalawanji (1954–)	6 August 2012	9 August 2012	3 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Hijab
66		Wael Nader al-Halqi (1964–)	9 August 2012	3 July 2016	3 years, 329 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		al-Halqi I–II
67		Imad Khamis (1961–)	3 July 2016	11 June 2020	3 years, 344 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Khamis
68		Hussein Arnous (1953–)	11 June 2020	Incumbent	1 year, 160 days	Syrian Ba'ath Party (Syria Region)		Arnous I–II

See also

• President of Syria
  • List of presidents of Syria
• Vice President of Syria
• Prime Minister of Syria
• Speaker of the People's Assembly of Syria

References

General

Bibliography

• Moubayed, Sami M. (2006). Steel & Silk: Men and Women who shaped Syria 1900–2000. Cune Press. ISBN 1-885942-40-0.
• Seale, Patrick (1990). Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520069763.