A former rebel leader who helped defeat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month was named interim president of the country Wednesday.
Commanders of military factions that toppled the former regime named Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has served as the de facto head of government since the fall of Assad, as president during the formation of a new government.
Al-Sharra, who was once aligned with al-Qaida, is facing the daunting task of forming a temporary legislative council for the transitional period, as the previous parliament has been dissolved.
Syria’s constitution has also been annulled and a new charter will be adopted. No timeline for the creation of a new parliament and Constitution has been announced.
Al-Sharra is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, that spearheaded the campaign in December to take control of Damascus. Assad fled to Russia, ending more than half a century of oppressive rule by Bashar and his late father, Hafez.
At one point, the U.S. had placed a $10 million bounty on al-Sharra, the new interim president, according to the Associated Press. The bounty was removed recently after a U.S. delegation met him in Damascus.
Barbara Leaf, a top U.S. diplomat in the Middle East described al-Sharra as “pragmatic,” after meeting him, AP reported.
In a video released after the meeting with the Syrian factions, al-Sharaa said one of his top priorities in the new position will be filling “in a legitimate and legal way” Syria’s vacuum in government. Another priority, he said, will be “maintaining civil peace by seeking transitional justice and preventing revenge attacks” due to Assad’s reign.
Syrians took to the streets of Damascus, the capital, to celebrate the announcement of al-Sharaa’s appointment. One of those celebrating was Abdallah al-Sweid who told AP that the new president “is someone who is intelligent and has a good understanding and he was the leader of the battle that freed Syria.” Al-Sharra “is someone who deserves to be president,” al-Sweid said.
However, Fawaz Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics sees al-Sharra’s appointment differently. He told Reuters that the declaration of the interim president’s appointment “formalized” al-Sharra’s “status as the strongman ruler.” Gerges said, “My take is that HTS and Sharaa intend to consolidate single-party Islamist rule.”
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