Chief of the General Staff (Syria)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة | |
since 21 December 2024 | |
| Ministry of Defense | |
| Reports to | Minister of Defense |
| Residence | Damascus |
| Seat | Hay'at al-Arkan, Umayyad Square |
| Appointer | President |
| Formation | 1947 |
| First holder | Abdullah Atfeh |
The Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces (Arabic: رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة, romanized: Raʾīs Hayʾat al-Arkān al-ʿĀmma li-l-Jaysh wa-l-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa) is the professional head of the Syrian Armed Forces and the Syrian Army. The Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the President of Syria, who is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
On 16 July 2025, the Israeli Air Force bombed the entrance and two of its facades to the General Staff headquarters in Damascus, amid the July 2025 southern Syria clashes.[1]
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 |  |
Major general Abdullah Atfeh (1897–1976) |
1947 | 1948 | 0–1 years | [2] |
| 2 |  |
Brigadier general Husni al-Za'im (1897–1949) |
1948 | 1949 | 0–1 years | |
| 3 |  |
Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi (1898–1950) |
1949 | 1950 | 0–1 years | |
| 4 |  |
Brigadier general Anwar Bannud (1908–1979) |
2 January 1950 | 23 April 1951 | 1 year, 111 days | [3] |
| 5 |  |
Fawzi Selu (1905–1972) |
23 April 1951 | 1953 | 1–2 years | |
| 6 | .jpg) |
General Shawkat Shuqayr (1912–1982) |
1953 | 8 July 1956 | 2–3 years | |
| 7 | |
General Tawfiq Nizam al-Din |
8 July 1956 | 1957 | 0–1 years | |
| 8 | .jpg) |
Lieutenant general Afif al-Bizri (1912–1982) |
1957 | 1959 | 1–2 years | |
| 9 | ![](#/media/File:Syrian_officer_Jamal_al-Faisal_on_the_cover_of_the_magazine_"Syrian_Soldier"_(cropped).jpg) |
General Jamal al-Faisal (1915–1995) |
1959 | 28 September 1961 | 1–2 years | |
| 10 | ,_1961.jpg) |
General Abdul Karim Zahreddine (1917–2009) |
28 September 1961 | 8 March 1963 | 1 year, 161 days | |
| 11 |  |
Major general Ziad al-Hariri (1929–2015) |
8 March 1963 | 8 July 1963 | 122 days | |
| 12 |  |
Major general Salah Jadid (1926–1993) |
11 November 1963 | 1966 | 2–3 years | [4] |
| 13 | |
Major general Ahmed Suwaydani (1932–1994) |
February 1966 | February 1968 | 1–2 years | |
| 14 | .jpg) |
Colonel general Mustafa Tlass (1932–2017) |
1968 | 1972 | 3–4 years | |
| 15 | |
Colonel general Yusuf Shakkur (1926–2018) |
1972 | 1974 | 1–2 years | |
| 16 |  |
Colonel general Hikmat al-Shihabi (1931–2013) |
12 August 1974 | 8 July 1998 | 23 years, 330 days | [5] |
| 17 |  |
Lieutenant general Ali Aslan (born 1932) |
8 July 1998 | 23 January 2002 | 3 years, 199 days | [6] |
| 18 | |
Lieutenant general Hasan Turkmani (1935–2012) |
23 January 2002 | 12 May 2004 | 2 years, 110 days | [7][8] |
| 19 |  |
Colonel general Ali Habib Mahmud (1939–2020) |
12 May 2004 | 3 June 2009 | 5 years, 22 days | [9][10] [11] |
| 20 | |
Colonel general Dawoud Rajiha (1947–2012) |
3 June 2009 | 8 August 2011 | 2 years, 66 days | [12][13] [14] |
| 21 | .jpg) |
Colonel general Fahd Jassem al-Freij (born 1950) |
8 August 2011 | 18 July 2012 | 345 days | [15] |
| 22 |  |
Lieutenant general Ali Abdullah Ayyoub (born 1952) |
18 July 2012 | 1 January 2018 | 5 years, 167 days | [16] |
| Vacant[17] 1 January 2018–1 April 2019 | ||||||
| 23 | |
Lieutenant general Salim Harba |
1 April 2019 | 30 April 2022 | 3 years, 29 days | [18] |
| 24 | .jpg){kind=small} |
Lieutenant general Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim (born 1963) |
30 April 2022 | 8 December 2024 | 2 years, 222 days | [19] |
| Vacant 8–21 December 2024 | ||||||
| 25 | |
Major general Ali Noureddine al-Naasan |
21 December 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 49 days | [20] |
