Abu Mohammad al-Julani (or Abu Mohammed al-Golani; born Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa), who led the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant outfit and its affiliate Jaish al-Izza (the Army of Pride) in the Syrian Civil War, prompting former President Bashar al-Assad to flee the West Asian nation on December 8, 2024, has recently been elected President of the Interim Government in Damascus.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) has reported that al-Julani suspended the Syrian Constitution immediately after becoming the President and also formed a temporary Legislative Council for the transitional period. The Legislative Council shall prepare a new Constitution for the Civil War-ravaged country.

In the last week of January 2025, the Military Command that led the offensive against al-Assad held a conference to prepare an action plan for the Interim Government. Speaking at the conference, al-Julani said that his top priority would be to fill a vacuum in government “in a legitimate and legal way”. He stressed that civil peace should be preserved through transitional justice and preventing displays of revenge. The newly-elected President further said that important State Institutions, like military and security forces, would be rebuilt and the economic infrastructure would be developed in a proper manner.

al-Julani also pledged to embark on a political transition, including a National Conference, an inclusive government and eventual elections, which would take place in the next four years. He told the conference: “We have freed our people from humiliation. Now, we must devote ourselves to reconstructing and advancing this nation.” Interestingly, Hassan Abdel Ghani, the Military Spokesperson of the Interim Government, announced the immediate dissolution of all military factions and revolutionary political bodies, stating that they would be integrated into state institutions. He also declared the Ba’ath Party, the outfit of dictator Bashar al-Assad, banned.

Meanwhile, Interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani emphasised an outward-looking foreign policy focused on Arab collaboration and reducing regional tensions, stressing: “We want Syria to be part of a collective Arab endeavour that promotes economic diversity.” al-Shibani reiterated that the swift removal of sanctions would be crucial for the revival of Syria.

It may be noted that the al-Assad family ruled Syria for more than five decades (since 1971). The last Constitution of Syria came into effect during the reign of Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez al-Assad (October 6, 1930 – June 10, 2000) who had ruled the country for 30 years. Bashar became the President after the demise of his father in 2000 and ruled Syria for the next 24 years. Although the decades-long Civil War triggered the fall of al-Assad Regime on December 8, 2024, troops and militias loyal to Bashar al-Assad still occupy certain regions of the western Mediterranean coast in Syria.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das