Short facts about the government of Syria

Country name:

conventional long form:  Syrian Arab Republic conventional short form:  Syria local long form:  Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form:  Suriyah former:  United Arab Republic (with Egypt)

Government type:

republic under military regime since March 1963

Capital:

Damascus

Administrative divisions:

14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus

Independence:

17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 17 April (1946)

Constitution:

13 March 1973

Legal system:

based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state:  President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984) head of government:  Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Khalid RA'D (since 13 March 2000), Muhammad NAJI 'UTRI (since 13 March 2000) cabinet:  Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections:  president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results:  Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note:  Hafiz al-ASAD died 10 June 2000; 20 June 2000 the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council 25 June 2000

Legislative branch:

unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections:  last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results:  percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, non-NPF 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receive one-half of the seats

Judicial branch:

Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts

Political parties and leaders:

National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National Progressive Front after the death of Hafiz al-ASAD on 10 June 2000]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement or ASU [Sami SOUFAN]; Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al-ASAD]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence

International organization participation:

ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission:  Ambassador Rustum al-ZU'BI chancery:  2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone:  [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX:  [1] (202) 234-9548

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission:  Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER embassy:  Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address:  P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone:  [963] (11) 333-2814 FAX:  [963] (11) 224-7938

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band

Source: World Factbook