Chief of the General Staff (Syria)
| Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة | |
 Emblem of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces | |
.svg) Flag of the Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces | |
Incumbent since 8 December 2024Vacant | |
| Ministry of Defence | |
| Reports to | Minister of Defense |
| Residence | Damascus |
| Seat | Hay'at al-Arkan |
| Appointer | President |
| Formation | 1947 |
| First holder | Abdullah Atfeh |
The Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces (Arabic: رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة, romanized: Rayiys hayyat al'arkan aleamat liljaysh walquaat almusalaha) was the professional head of the Syrian Armed Forces and the Syrian Army. The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the President of Syria, who is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
List of officeholders
[edit]| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) |
Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | 
|
Major general Abdullah Atfeh (1897–1976) |
1947 | 1948 | 0–1 years | [1] |
| 2 | 
|
Brigadier general Husni al-Za'im (1897–1949) |
1948 | 1949 | 0–1 years | |
| 3 | 
|
Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi (1898–1950) |
1949 | 1950 | 0–1 years | |
| 4 | 
|
Brigadier general Anwar Bannud (1908–1979) |
2 January 1950 | 23 April 1951 | 1 year, 111 days | [2] |
| 5 | 
|
Fawzi Selu (1905–1972) |
23 April 1951 | 1953 | 1–2 years | |
| 6 | .jpg)
|
General Shawkat Shuqayr (1912–1982) |
1953 | 8 July 1956 | 2–3 years | |
| 7 |
|
Tawfiq Nizam al-Din | 8 July 1956 | 1957 | 0–1 years | |
| 8 | .jpg)
|
Lieutenant general Afif al-Bizri (1912–1982) |
1957 | 1959 | 1–2 years | |
| 9 |
|
Jamal al-Faisal | 1959 | 28 September 1961 | ||
| 10 |
|
General Abdul Karim Zahreddine (1917–2009) |
28 September 1961 | 8 March 1963 | 1 year, 161 days | |
| 11 | 
|
Major general Ziad al-Hariri (born 1930) |
8 March 1963 | 8 July 1963 | 122 days | |
| 12 | 
|
Major general Salah Jadid (1926–1993) |
11 November 1963 | 1966 | 2–3 years | [3] |
| 13 |
|
Major general Ahmed Suidani (1932–1994) |
February 1966 | February 1968 | 1–2 years | |
| 14 | .jpg)
|
Colonel general Mustafa Tlass (1932–2017) |
1968 | 1972 | 3–4 years | |
| 15 |
|
Colonel general Yusuf Shakkur (1926–2018) |
1972 | 1974 | 1–2 years | |
| 16 | Colonel general Hikmat al-Shihabi (1931–2013) |
12 August 1974 | 8 July 1998 | 23 years, 330 days | [4] | |
| 17 | 
|
Lieutenant general Ali Aslan (born 1932) |
8 July 1998 | 23 January 2002 | 3 years, 199 days | [5] |
| 18 | Lieutenant general Hasan Turkmani (1935–2012) |
23 January 2002 | 12 May 2004 | 2 years, 110 days | [6][7] | |
| 19 | 
|
Colonel general Ali Habib Mahmud (1939–2020) |
12 May 2004 | 3 June 2009 | 5 years, 22 days | [8][9] [10] |
| 20 | 
|
Colonel general Dawoud Rajiha (1947–2012) |
3 June 2009 | 8 August 2011 | 2 years, 66 days | [11][12] [13] |
| 21 | 
|
Colonel general Fahd Jassem al-Freij (born 1950) |
8 August 2011 | 18 July 2012 | 345 days | [14] |
| 22 | 
|
Lieutenant general Ali Abdullah Ayyoub (born 1952) |
18 July 2012 | 1 January 2018 | 5 years, 167 days | [15] |
| Vacant[16] 1 January 2018–1 April 2019 | ||||||
| 23 |
|
Lieutenant general Salim Harba |
1 April 2019 | 30 April 2022 | 3 years, 29 days | [17] |
| 24 | .jpg){kind=small}
|
Lieutenant general Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim |
30 April 2022 | 8 December 2024 | 2 years, 222 days | [18] |
References
[edit]- ^ Moubayed, Sami M. (2006). Steel & Silk: Men & Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000. Cune Press. pp. 41–42. ISBN 1-885942-41-9.
- ^ Seale, Patrick (1986). The struggle for Syria: a study of post-war Arab politics, 1945-1958. I.B. Tauris. p. 92. ISBN 978-1850430285.
- ^ "Salah Jadid, 63, Leader of Syria Deposed and Imprisoned by Assad (Published 1993)". The New York Times. Associated Press. 24 August 1993. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Political Chronology of the Middle East. Routledge. 12 October 2012. p. 2038. ISBN 978-1-135-35673-6. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Faure, Claude (2002). Dictionary of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Culture, History, and Politics. Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-02-865977-5.
- ^ Gambill, Gary C. (February 2002). "The Military-Intelligence Shakeup in Syria". Middle East Intelligence Bulletin. 4 (2). Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ Hinnebusch, Raymond (2011). "The Ba'th Party in Post-Ba'thist Syria: President, Party and the Struggle for 'Reform'". Middle East Critique. 20 (2): 109–125. doi:10.1080/19436149.2011.572408.
- ^ وزير جديد للدفاع في سورية (in Arabic). BBC Arabic. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- ^ Flynt Lawrence Leverett (1 January 2005). Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial by Fire. Brookings Institution Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-8157-5206-6. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ "Syria names former army chief new defence minister". Syria Today. July 2009. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- ^ "By All Means Necessary!" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. December 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ "President al-Assad Issues Decree Naming Gen. Dawood Rajiha Defense Minister". SANA. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Syria's Assad replaces defense minister with army chief of staff". Ha'aretz. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
- ^ "President al-Assad Appoints Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces and Minister of Defense". Syrian Arab News Agency. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ "Syria's Assad names new defense and other ministers: state TV". Reuters. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "رئيس أركان الجيش في سوريا غائب منذ عام". snacksyrian.com (in Arabic). 29 November 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ Al Wasl, Zaman. "Assad Appoints Pro-Russia General as Chief of Staff". The Syrian Observer. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ "President al-Assad issues two decrees on promoting Minister of Defense to the rank Major General and appointing New Chief of Staff". SANA. Retrieved 8 May 2022.