Bashar al-Assad is a Syrian politician who is the current and 19th president of Syria since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which nominally espouses a neo-Ba'athist ideology. His father and predecessor was General Hafiz al-Assad, whose presidency in 1971–2000 marked the transfiguration of Syria from a republican state into a de facto dynastic dictatorship, tightly controlled by an Alawite-dominated elite composed of the armed forces and the Mukhabarat, who are loyal to the al-Assad family.
Major General Maher al-Assad is a Syrian military officer and commander of the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Division, which together with Syria's Military Intelligence form the core of the country's security forces. He is the younger brother of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and also a member of the Central Committee of the Syrian Ba'ath Party.
The Cabinet of Syria or Council of Ministers is the chief executive body of the Syrian Arab Republic.
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, and international criminals. The list is managed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). When individuals are added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), their U.S. assets are blocked. Moreover, their names are added to automated screening systems used by banks in the United States and many foreign countries, making it difficult for them to open or hold accounts, transfer money, or transact properties internationally. Any individual or entity that provides support related to terrorism, drug trafficking or unauthorized military use to any person or entity appearing on the SDN list risks being penalized under the USA PATRIOT Act.
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, also known as the Caesar Act, is United States legislation that sanctions the Syrian government, including Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, for war crimes against the Syrian population. The Act was signed into law by President Trump in December 2019, and came into force on June 17, 2020.
The Syrian Salvation Government is a de facto alternative government of the Syrian opposition in Idlib Governorate, formed in early November 2017 under the initiative of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel coalition in the context of the Syrian civil war. There followed weeks of conflict between the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) and the Syrian Interim Government (SIG), with reports of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham unilaterally disbanding several SIG-supported local councils across northwestern Syria.
This article lists events from the year 2020 in Syria.
The Imad Khamis government was the sixth Syrian government formed during the presidency of Bashar al-Assad, with Imad Khamis as Prime Minister. It was formed on 3 July 2016 after the 2016 parliamentary election. The government was the 94th since Syria gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and was the sixth during presidency of Bashar al-Assad. On 11 June 2020, Khamis was fired and replaced by Hussein Arnous as a result of the country's economic crisis.
Parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held in Syria on 13 April 2020 to elect members of the People's Council of Syria. However, on 14 March they were postponed to 20 May due to the coronavirus pandemic. On 7 May it was decided to postpone the elections until 19 July. Syria's parliamentary elections occur every four years, with the last held in 2016.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2020. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
Ali Abdulrahman Keda is a Syrian politician and engineer serving as the third Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government since 2019.
Events in the year 2021 in Syria.
The Ministry of Water Resources is a department of the Syrian government. The current minister is Hussein Makhlouf.
The first government of Hussein Arnous was formed on 30 August 2020 and took the oath of office on 2 September 2020. A new Council of Ministers was formed by Hussein Arnous at the appointment of President Bashar al-Assad. This government was the 94th since Syria gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and was the seventh during the presidency of President Bashar al-Assad.
International sanctions against Syria are a series of economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland, mainly as a result of the repression of civilians in the Syrian civil war from 2011 onwards. The US sanctions against Syria are the most severe, as they affect third-parties as well, and amount to an embargo. U.S. secondary sanctions were limited until 2020 when the Caesar Act entered into force. The intent is to prevent the Syrian government from employing violence against its citizens and to motivate political reforms that could solve the root causes of the conflict.
The second government of Hussein Arnous was formed after appointment by the President of Syria on 10 August 2021 and took the oath of office on 14 August 2021, after the presidential election held in May. This replaced the caretaker ministry formed in July. The government is the 95th since Syria gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and is the eighth during the presidency of Bashar al-Assad.
Kenan Yaghi is a Syrian politician. He has been Finance Minister since 2020.
Mohammad Samer al-Khalil is a Syrian politician. He is currently serving as Economy and Foreign Trade Minister.
Hassan al-Ghabbash is a Syrian doctor and politician. He has been the Health Minister since 2020.
Mohammad Fayez al-Barasha is a Syrian politician from the Syrian Communist Party. Since 2021, he has served in the Second Hussein Arnous government as Minister of State for Investment Affairs and Vital Projects.
