1. Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa was born on 29 October 1982 and known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian politician and former rebel commander who is currently serving as the president of Syria since January 2025.
62 Facts About Ahmed al-Sharaa
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Ahmed al-Sharaa previously served as the country's de facto leader from December 2024 until his appointment as president.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa's release coincided with the Syrian Revolution against the Ba'athist dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa resisted Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's attempts to merge al-Nusra Front with the Islamic State, leading to war between the two groups.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an interim constitution establishing a five-year transition period and announced the formation of the transitional government.
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Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa was born on 29 October 1982 in Riyadh to a middle-class family, of four brothers and two sisters.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa's father, Hussein al-Sharaa, worked there as an oil engineer at the Ministry of Petroleum there, and his mother was a geography teacher.
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Whilst living in an apartment block in the Mezzeh neighbourhood in the west of the city, Ahmed al-Sharaa worked part-time as a child in a grocery store owned by his father.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa frequented the Shafi'i mosque in his neighbourhood, and at the age of seventeen, he became religious.
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Witnesses say the residents obliged, but Ahmed al-Sharaa has not been seen there since.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa said that, while he largely disagreed with his father ideologically, they both shared a commitment to defending the Palestinians.
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Besides the story of his grandfather's and his family's displacement from the Golan Heights, Ahmed al-Sharaa said that the Second Intifada in 2000 had an impact on his life choices.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa enrolled at Damascus University, studying media studies and enrolling in the Faculty of Medicine for two years.
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In 2003, Ahmed al-Sharaa was detained and questioned by the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate for his illegal departure from Syria to Iraq, but he was released after denying any affiliation to any political parties or extremist groups.
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Once in Iraq, Ahmed al-Sharaa quickly rose through the ranks of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
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The Times of Israel newspaper claimed in 2013 that Ahmed al-Sharaa was a close associate of AQI leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
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The Economist reported in 2025 that Iraqi intelligence believed Ahmed al-Sharaa was Zarqawi's deputy in 2004.
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Over time, Ahmed al-Sharaa began distancing himself from transnational jihadist ideology, increasingly framing his faction within the context of a nationalist Syrian struggle.
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Sources differ on whether Sharaa was the one who came up with the idea of forming Jabhat al-Nusra or another leader in the Islamic State of Iraq; however, what is certain is that Ahmed al-Sharaa became the "general emir" of al-Nusra when it was officially announced in January 2012.
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Al-Nusra became increasingly popular for providing social services and cooperating with other Syrian rebel groups against the Assad regime, and Ahmed al-Sharaa ignored al-Baghdadi's orders to begin fighting these groups and assassinate opposition activists.
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Concerned about al-Nusra's popularity and Ahmed al-Sharaa's perceived insubordination, al-Baghdadi unilaterally announced that al-Nusra would merge into ISI to form the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in April 2013.
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Open warfare between ISIS and al-Nusra ensued; Ahmed al-Sharaa warned that the fighting risked giving a reprieve to Assad.
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In June 2015, Ahmed al-Sharaa told Al Jazeera that no resolution to the conflict was forthcoming, and that unless ISIS "repent to God and return to their senses", there would be "nothing but fighting between us".
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Ahmed al-Sharaa described the Geneva peace conference as a farce and claimed that the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition did not represent the Syrian people and had no ground presence in Syria.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that Nusra would not target the country's Alawite minority despite its support for the Assad regime.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa continued: "Our war is not a matter of revenge against the Alawites despite the fact that in Islam, they are considered to be heretics", he added.
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In July 2016, Ahmed al-Sharaa convened al-Nusra's Shura Council twice to discuss the matter.
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On 28 July 2016, Ahmed al-Sharaa announced that al-Nusra had severed ties with al-Qaeda and rebranded as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa added that the new organisation would have "no affiliation to any external entity".
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On 28 January 2017, Ahmed al-Sharaa announced that JFS would dissolve and merge with Liwa al-Haqq, Jaysh al-Sunna, Ansar al-Din Front and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, gaining approximately 3,000 to 5,000 more fighters.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa released hundreds of detainees from a previous summer's security operation, including his former deputy Abu Maria al-Qahtani, who had been arrested along with 300 others in a purge of his movement.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa promised local elections and increased employment opportunities for displaced persons, while warning protesters against what he termed treachery.
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Reports indicated that Ahmed al-Sharaa had twice attempted to take over other Turkish-administered areas in northern Syria.
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In late November 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa led HTS in its Deterrence of Aggression offensive against the pro-Assad Syrian Arab Army.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa expressed his intention to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homes.
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On 8 December 2024, then-Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali announced that the Syrian government would hand over power to a new elected government following the departure of Assad from Damascus, and Ahmed al-Sharaa announced further that al-Jalali will "supervise state institutions until they are handed over".
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Al-Jalali later noted to Al Arabiya that he and Ahmed al-Sharaa had been in contact prior to the announcement to discuss the handover.
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On 12 December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Turkish officials, which marked the first diplomatic delegation since Assad's overthrow.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa explained that there is no justification for any foreign intervention after the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria, considering that the "Iranian project" was harmful, and that the victory in Syria is a victory over this project.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa stressed that what happened in Syria was not a coincidence, but rather the result of long preparations.
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On 3 January 2025, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot became the first top diplomats from European Union member states to travel to Damascus since the fall of Assad, meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa to discuss a new political beginning between Europe and Syria.
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Ghani stated that Ahmed al-Sharaa would govern the country during the transitional period, assume the duties of the president, and represent the nation on the international stage.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa announced plans to establish a transitional justice committee and stressed the need for armed groups to integrate into the military while the state maintains a monopoly on weapons.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa reiterated his commitment to uphold the rule of law and prevent the nation from descending into sectarian conflict.
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On that same day, Ahmed al-Sharaa signed an agreement with Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, to incorporate SDF-controlled institutions into the state, establish border crossings, and pledge to fight the remnants of the Assad regime.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa attended the Arab League's emergency summit and the fourth Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa pointed to a major investment opportunity for all neighbouring countries that can implement joint economic projects with the new Syrian regime.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa said one of his top priorities is to rebuild the economy by issuing a new currency after the value of the current currency is stabilised.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa mentioned that Turkey was planning a full-scale operation in the north against Kurdish forces but had asked them to wait to allow for negotiations.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that the sanctions were damaging his government and slowing down economic recovery.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa mentioned that his government was considering granting Syrian citizenship to foreign fighters who had lived in Syria for many years and supported the revolution.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke of "diplomatic solutions" as the only way to ensure security instead of "ill-considered military adventures".
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On 14 December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa clarified that his administration was not interested in engaging in a new conflict with Israel, emphasizing that Syria's priority was rebuilding after years of war.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa noted that the country's deteriorating situation did not permit further hostilities and that maintaining state stability was paramount.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa stressed that diplomatic solutions were the only viable path to ensuring security and long-term stability in the region.
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On 11 February 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa stated in an interview with The Rest Is Politics that Trump's proposed United States takeover of the Gaza Strip would not succeed, asserting that no power can drive people from their land.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa noted that many countries have tried and failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza.
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On 4 March 2025, at the extraordinary Arab League summit on Gaza, Ahmed al-Sharaa condemned calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians, calling them a threat to all Arabs.
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Since the fall of the Assad regime, Ahmed al-Sharaa has made several statements regarding Iran's involvement in Syria.
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Ahmed al-Sharaa described Iran's regional ambitions as detrimental and framed the developments in Syria as a setback for Iran's influence in the region.
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In 2012, Time reported that in one of the meetings of prominent armed groups attended by the leaders of Ahrar al-Sham, Suqour al-Sham, Liwa al-Islam, and other brigades, Ahmed al-Sharaa wore a mask, refusing to reveal his identity, and was introduced to the attendees by the Front's emirs in Aleppo and Idlib.
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On 29 January 2025, during a meeting with a delegation of Syrian women residing in the United States, Ahmed al-Sharaa introduced his wife, Latifa al-Droubi, dismissing social media rumors about having multiple spouses.