Ahmed al-Sharaa

His Excellency Ahmed al-Sharaa
أحمد الشرع
Al-Sharaa in 2024
20th President of Syria
Transitional
Assumed office 29 January 2025
Prime Minister	Mohammed al-Bashir
Vice President	None
Preceded by	Bashar al-Assad[a]
2nd Emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
In office 1 October 2017 – 29 January 2025
Preceded by	Abu Jaber Shaykh
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Emir of the al-Nusra Front[b]
In office 23 January 2012 – 28 January 2017
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (1982-10-29) 29 October 1982 (age 42) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (2016–2025)
Parents	Hussein al-Sharaa (father)
Relatives	Maher al-Sharaa (brother)
Nickname(s)	Abu Mohammad al-Julani
Allegiance	Syrian transitional government (2024–present) Formerly Al-Qaeda (2003–2016)[1] Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2004–2006) Mujahideen Shura Council (January 2006 – October 2006) Islamic State of Iraq (October 2006 – 23 January 2012)[2][3][4] Al-Nusra Front (2012–2016) Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (2016–2017) Syrian Salvation Government (2017–2024) Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (2017–2025)
Years of service	2003–present
Rank	Commander-in-chief (HTS)
Battles/wars	See list Iraq War Iraqi insurgency 2003–2006 phase Syrian civil war Inter-rebel conflict 2016 Idlib clashes 2017 Idlib clashes 2020 Idlib clashes 2021 Idlib clashes 2022 Aleppo clashes 2014 Idlib offensive 2015 Idlib offensive 2017 Hama offensive Northwestern Syria campaign (October 2017–February 2018) Idlib demilitarization (2018–2019) 2018 Aleppo clashes Dawn of Idlib Dawn of Idlib 2 2024 Syrian opposition offensives Battle of Aleppo Hama offensive Homs offensive

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (born 29 October 1982), also known by his kunya Abu Mohammad al-Julani,^[c] is a Syrian politician and militant leader who has been the 20th President of Syria since 2025. He was also the militant leader of the militant group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.

Al-Sharaa was born to a Syrian Sunni Muslim family from the Golan Heights, and grew up in the capital, Damascus. Shortly before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he joined al-Qaeda and fought for three years in the Iraqi insurgency. American forces captured and imprisoned him from 2006 to 2011. His release happened around the same time as the Syrian revolution, and he created the al-Nusra Front in 2012 with the support of al-Qaeda to take part in the Syrian civil war against the Ba'athist government of Bashar al-Assad. Before he cut ties with al-Qaeda in 2016,^[6] he was the emir of the defunct Jabhat al-Nusra, the official group that repersented al-Qaeda in Syria.^[7]
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1. ↑ "State Department amends terror designation for al Nusrah Front | FDD's Long War Journal". June 2018. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
2. ↑ "What to Know About the Man Who Toppled Assad".
3. ↑ "What to Know About the Man Who Toppled Assad | the Washington Institute".
4. ↑ "Search results".
5. ↑ "Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of Syria's shock insurgency?". AP News. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
6. ↑ "Al-Nusra leader Jolani announces split from al-Qaeda". Al Jazeera. 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022.
7. ↑ "Syrian Nusra Front announces split from al-Qaeda". BBC News. 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.