Hadi al-Bahra (Arabic: هادي البحرة, born in Damascus on February 13, 1959)[1] is a member of the Syrian opposition movement who was the President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from 9 July 2014[2] until 4 January 2015.[3] He was re-elected on 12 September 2023 and is the incumbent president.[4]
Childhood and education
Al-Bahra holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Wichita State University in the United States.[citation needed]
Pre Syrian Revolution
Prior to the Syrian Revolution that started in 2011 after street protests were violently repressed, al-Bahra held the position of Executive Director of Erfan and Bagedo general hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in the period 1983–1987. In the period from 1987 until 2003, became CEO of Horizon of Commercial development Co, then general manager of Horizon International Exhibitions for the period 2004–2005, a company operating in the free zone in Damascus, Syria and then the CEO of Techno Media from 2005 until 2011. Al-Bahra has extensive experience in communications systems, information technology, interactive display systems, and the organization of conferences and events.[citation needed]
Syrian civil war
Al-Bahra used his experience in communications technology to support the Syrian opposition, where he contributed to the establishment of support groups to coordinate communication between Syrian activists and the regional and international media, he worked with the opposition inside Syria, contributing to the media, relief activities and the political side of the protests.[5] Al-Bahra joined the SOC[clarification needed] in the expansion that took place on 31 May 2013. He was then elected to be the general secretary of the political committee. The coalition chose him to be the chief negotiator of its delegation to the Geneva II Conference on Syria. al-Bahra was elected as president in Istanbul, Turkey[5] on 9 July 2014, with 62 votes, defeating his nearest rival Mouaffaq Nyrabia, who received 41 votes.[6]
