Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates
وزارة الخارجية والمغتربين
Wizārat al-Khārijīyah wa-al-Mughtaribīn
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Agency overview
Formed 1920; 106 years ago (1920)
Preceding agency
  • Ministry of Expatriates
Jurisdiction Syria and its diplomatic missions worldwide
Headquarters Kafr Sousa, Damascus
Minister responsible
  • Asaad al-Shaibani
Website mofaex.gov.sy

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (Arabic: وزارة الخارجية والمغتربين, romanized: Wizārat al-Khārijīyah wa-al-Mughtaribīn) is a cabinet ministry of Syria, responsible for conducting foreign relations of the country. The ministry oversees the expression of Syrian foreign policy, the protection of the interests of Syria and the interests of Syrian citizens abroad, as well as the representation of the country to other countries and international organizations. The responsibilities of the Ministry of Expatriates were merged on 14 April 2011.

The current minister is Asaad al-Shaibani who was appointed on 21 December 2024 following the collapse of the Ba'athist regime.

Foreign ministers

The following is a list of foreign ministers of Syria since 1920:[1]

Arab Kingdom of Syria (1918–1920)

  • (1920) Awni Abd al-Hadi
  • (1920) Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar
  • (1920) Aladdin al-Droubi

French Mandate for Syria and First Syrian Republic (1930–1950)

  • (1936–1939) Saadallah al-Jabiri
  • (1939) Fayez al-Khoury
  • (1939) Khalid al-Azm
  • (1941–1943) Fayez al-Khoury
  • (1943) Naim Antaki
  • (1943–1945) Jamil Mardam Bey
  • (1945) Mikhail Ilyan
  • (1945–1946) Saadallah al-Jabiri
  • (1946–1947) Naim Antaki
  • (1947–1948) Jamil Mardam Bey
  • (1948) Muhsin al-Barazi
  • (1948–1949) Khalid al-Azm
  • (1949) Adil Arslan
  • (1949) Muhsin al-Barazi
  • (1949) Nazim al-Kudsi
  • (1949–1950) Khalid al-Azm

Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958)

United Arab Republic (1958–1961)

  • (1958–1961) Mahmoud Fawzi

Syrian Arab Republic (1961–1963)

Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024)

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Term of office Political party Government
Took office Left office Time in office
Salah al-Din al-Bitar
(1912–1980)		 1963 1963 Ba'ath Party al-Bitar I–III
Hassan Mraywed 1963 1965 2 years Ba'ath Party al-Hafiz I
al-Bitar IV
al-Hafiz II
Ibrahim Makhous
(1925–2013)		 22 September 1965 21 December 1965 90 days Ba'ath Party Zuayyin I
Salah al-Din al-Bitar
(1912–1980)		 21 December 1965 1 March 1966 70 days Ba'ath Party al-Bitar V
Ibrahim Makhous
(1925–2013)		 1 March 1966 29 October 1968 2 years, 242 days Ba'ath Party Zuayyin II
Muhammad Eid Ashawi 1968 1969 1 year Ba'ath Party al-Atassi
Mustapha al-Said 1969 1970 1 year Ba'ath Party al-Atassi
Abdul Halim Khaddam
(1932–2020)		 5 July 1970 1 March 1984 13 years, 240 days Ba'ath Party al-Atassi
[...]
al-Kasm I
Farouk al-Sharaa
(born 1938)		 1 March 1984 21 February 2006 21 years, 357 days Ba'ath Party al-Kasm II
[...]
al-Otari
Walid Muallem
(1941–2020)		 21 February 2006 16 November 2020 14 years, 269 days Ba'ath Party al-Otari
[...]
Arnous I
Faisal Mekdad
(born 1954)		 22 November 2020 23 September 2024 3 years, 306 days Ba'ath Party Arnous I–II
Bassam al-Sabbagh
(born 1969)		 23 September 2024 10 December 2024 78 days Ba'ath Party al-Jalali

Transitional period (2024–present)

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Term of office Political party Government
Took office Left office Time in office
Asaad al-Shaibani
(born 1987)		 21 December 2024 Incumbent 1 year, 75 days HTS
(until 29 January 2025)		 Caretaker
(until 29 March 2025)
Independent Transitional

See also

  • Foreign relations of Syria
  • President of Syria
    • List of presidents of Syria
  • Speaker of the People's Assembly of Syria
  • Government of Syria

References

  1. ^ "Foreign ministers S-Z". rulers.org. B. Schemmel. Retrieved 21 April 2017.