Ministry of Defense

وزارة الدفاع
Agency overview
Formed	1920; 104 years ago (1920)
Jurisdiction	Government of Syria
Headquarters	Mahdi Bin Baraka Street, Umayyad Square, Damascus 33°30′50.58″N 36°16′42.58″E / 33.5140500°N 36.2784944°E / 33.5140500; 36.2784944
Minister responsible	General Ali Mahmoud Abbas[1], Minister of Defense
Website	www.mod.gov.sy

The Ministry of Defense (Arabic: وزارة الدفاع) is a government ministry office of the Syrian Arab Republic, responsible for defense affairs in Syria.^[2] Ali Mahmoud Abbas, Minister of Defense holds the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces.^[3]

Ministers of Defense

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–present)

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 Party	al-Dawalibi
4		General Abdul Karim Zahreddine [ar] (1917–2009)	16 April 1962	8 March 1963	326 days	Independent	al-Azma al-Azm
5		General 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 [ar] (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 [ar] (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	Incumbent	1 year, 344 days	Ba'ath Party	Arnous II

Timeline

Military Intelligence Agencies

• Military Intelligence Directorate
• Air Force Intelligence Directorate