Ministry of Defense (Syria)

Ministry of Defense

وزارة الدفاع‎
Emblem of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces
Flag of the Minister of Defense
Agency overview
Formed	1920 (1920)
Jurisdiction	Government of Syria
Headquarters	Mahdi Bin Baraka Street, Umayyad Square, Damascus 33°30′50.58″N 36°16′42.58″E
Minister responsible	Murhaf Abu Qasra
Child agency	General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces
Website	www.mod.gov.sy

The Ministry of Defense (Arabic: وزارة الدفاع) is a government ministry office of the Syria, responsible for defense affairs in Syria. Murhaf Abu Qasra, Minister of Defense holds the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces.

Following the fall of the al-Assad regime in December 2024, transitional prime minister Mohammed Al-Bashir has said the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.

Ministers of Defense

Yusuf al-Azma

Saadallah al-Jabiri

Khalid al-Azm

Arab Kingdom of Syria (1918–1920)

• Yusuf al-'Azma (January 1920 – 24 July 1920)
• Jamil al-Ulshi (25 July 1920 – 30 November 1920)

French Mandate for Syria (1920–1946)

• Shukri al-Quwatli (21 December 1936 – 22 March 1938)
• Jamil Mardam Bey (22 March 1938 – 23 February 1939)
• Mazhar Raslan (23 February 1939 – 5 April 1939)
• Nasuhi al-Bukhari (5 April 1939 – 4 July 1939)
• Abd al-Ghaffar al-Atrash (20 September 1941 – 15 March 1942)
• Hasan al-Atrash (18 April 1942 – 25 March 1943)
• Ata Bey al-Ayyubi (25 March 1943 – 19 August 1943)
• Nasuhi al-Bukhari (19 August 1943 – 14 October 1944)
• Jamil Mardam Bey (14 October 1944 – 5 April 1945) and (5 April 1945 – 26 August 1945)
• Khalid al-Azm (26 August 1945 – 30 September 1945)
• Saadallah al-Jabiri (30 September 1945 – 27 April 1946)

First Syrian Republic and Second Syrian Republic (1946–1958)

• Nabih al-Azma (27 April 1946 – 17 June 1946)
• Ahmad al-Sharabati (17 June 1946 – 23 May 1948)
• Jamil Mardam Bey (23 August 1948 – 12 December 1948)
• Khalid al-Azm (12 December 1948 – 17 April 1949) and (13 February 1955 – 13 September 1955)
• Husni al-Za'im (17 April 1949 – 1 July 1949)
• Abdullah Atfeh (1 July 1949 – 28 December 1949)
• Akram al-Hawrani (28 December 1949 – 4 June 1950)
• Fawzi Selu (4 June 1950 – 13 November 1951) and (9 June 1952 – 19 July 1953)
• Zaki al-Khatib (13 November 1951 – 9 June 1952)
• Raf'at Khankan (19 July 1953 – 1 March 1954)
• Maarouf al-Dawalibi (1 March 1954 – 19 June 1954)
• Said al-Ghazzi (19 June 1954 – 3 November 1954)
• Rashad Barmada (3 November 1954 – 13 February 1955), (13 September 1955 – 14 June 1956)
• Abd al-Hasib Raslan (14 June 1956 – 22 February 1958)

United Arab Republic (1958–1961)

• Abdel Hakim Amer (22 February 1958 – 28 September 1961)

Syrian Arab Republic (1961–2024)

No.	Portrait	Name (Born-Died)	Term of office			Political party	Government
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Maamun al-Kuzbari (1914–1998)	28 September 1961	20 November 1961	53 days	Arab Liberation Movement	al-Kuzbari
2		Izzat al-Nuss (1912–1976)	20 November 1961	22 December 1961	32 days	Military	al-Nuss
3		Rashad Barmada (1913–1988)	22 December 1961	16 April 1962	115 days	People's	al-Dawalibi
4		General Abdul Karim Zahreddine (1917–2009)	16 April 1962	8 March 1963	326 days	Independent	al-Azma al-Azm
5		Field Marshal Muhammad al-Sufi (1927–2018)	9 March 1963	11 May 1963	63 days	Independent	al-Bitar I
6		Major General Ziad al-Hariri (born 1930)	11 May 1963	4 August 1963	85 days	Independent	al-Bitar I–II
7		Major General Abdullah Ziadeh (1915–1998)	4 August 1963	14 May 1964	284 days	Independent	al-Bitar III al-Hafiz I
8		Major General Mamdouh Jaber (born 1928)	14 May 1964	23 September 1965	1 year, 132 days	Ba'ath Party	al-Bitar IV al-Hafiz II
9		Major General Hamad Ubayd (born 1928)	23 September 1965	27 December 1965	95 days	Ba'ath Party	Zuayyin I
10		Major General Muhammad Umran (1922–1972)	1 January 1966	23 February 1966	53 days	Ba'ath Party	al-Bitar V
11		Major General Hafez al-Assad (1930–2000)	23 February 1966	17 March 1971	5 years, 22 days	Ba'ath Party	Zuayyin II al-Atassi al-Assad
12		Colonel General Mustafa Tlass (1932–2017)	22 March 1972	12 May 2004	32 years, 51 days	Ba'ath Party	Khleifawi I [...] al-Otari
13		Lieutenant General Hasan Turkmani (1935–2012)	12 May 2004	3 June 2009	5 years, 22 days	Ba'ath Party	al-Otari
14		Colonel General Ali Habib Mahmud (1939–2020)	3 June 2009	8 August 2011	2 years, 66 days	Ba'ath Party	al-Otari Safar
15		Colonel General Dawoud Rajiha (1947–2012)	8 August 2011	18 July 2012 †	345 days	Ba'ath Party	Safar Hijab
16		Colonel General Fahd Jassem al-Freij (born 1950)	18 July 2012	1 January 2018	5 years, 167 days	Ba'ath Party	Hijab al-Halqi I–II Khamis
17		Lieutenant General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub (born 1952)	1 January 2018	28 April 2022	4 years, 117 days	Ba'ath Party	Khamis Arnous I–II
18		Lieutenant General Ali Mahmoud Abbas (born 1964)	28 April 2022	8 December 2024	224 days	Ba'ath Party	Arnous II

Timeline

Military Intelligence Agencies

• Military Intelligence Directorate
• Air Force Intelligence Directorate

See also

• Syrian Armed Forces

External links

• Ministry of Defense