Syria Government

What is the capital of Syria?

Country Name	Syria
Full Country Name	Syrian Arab Republic
Local - Long	Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah
Local - Short	Suriyah
Former Name	United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
Etymology- history of name	name ultimately derived from the ancient Assyrians who dominated northern Mesopotamia, but whose reach also extended westward to the Levant; over time, the name came to be associated more with the western area
Government Type	presidential republic; highly authoritarian regime
Capital Name	Damascus
Capital - geographic coordinate	33 30 N, 36 18 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time	+1hr, begins midnight on the last Friday in March; ends at midnight on the first Friday in November
Independence	17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
National Holiday	Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Constitution	several previous; latest issued 15 February 2012, passed by referendum 26 February 2012

Syria Capital City Map

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Syria Government and Politics

Who is the president of Syria?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Imad Muhammad Dib KHAMIS (since 22 June 2016); Deputy Prime Minister Walid al-MUALEM (since 23 June 2012) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 3 June 2014 (next to be held in June 2021); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 88.7%, Hassan al-NOURI (independent) 4.3%, Maher HAJJER (independent) 3.2%, other/invalid 3.8%
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Syria; if the father is unknown or stateless, the mother must be a citizen of Syria dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Legal System:	mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law (for family courts)
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral People's Assembly or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority preferential vote to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 13 April 2016 (next to be held in April 2020) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 80%, other 20%; seats by party - NPF 200, other 50; composition - men 217, women 33, percent of women 13.2%
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 7 members) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC, a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC; judges appointed for 4-year renewable terms subordinate courts: courts of first instance; magistrates' courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court
Regions or States:	14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah (Latakia), Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq (Damascus), Halab, Hamah, Hims (Homs), Idlib, Rif Dimashq (Damascus Countryside), Tartus
Political Parties and Leaders:	legal parties/alliances: Arab Socialist Union of Syria or ASU [Safwan al-QUDSI] National Progressive Front or NPF [Bashar al-ASAD, Suleiman QADDAH] (alliance includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD], Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr al-DIN] Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL] Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP [As'ad HARDAN] Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]) Kurdish parties (considered illegal): Kurdish Azadi Party Kurdish Democratic Accord Party (al Wifaq) Kurdish Democratic Party (al Parti-Ibrahim wing) Kurdish Democratic Party (al Parti-Mustafa wing) Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria or KDP-S Kurdish Democratic Patriotic/National Party Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party or KDPP-Darwish Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party or KDPP-Muhammad Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Salih Muslim MOHAMMAD] Kurdish Democratic Unity Party Kurdish Democratic Yekiti Party Kurdish Future Party [Rezan HASSAN] Kurdish Left Party Kurdish Yekiti (Union) Party Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party other: Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI]
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International Organization Participation:	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	note: Embassy ceased operation and closed on 18 March 2014 chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mounir KOUDMANI (since 1 June 2012) chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); US Special Envoy for Syria Michael RATNEY (since 27 July 2015); note - on 6 February 2012, the US closed its embassy in Damascus embassy: Abou Roumaneh, 2 Al Mansour Street, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 3391-4444 FAX: [963] (11) 3391-3999

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