Ahmed al-Sharaa

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ahmed al-Sharaa

• Ahmed al-Sharaa grew up in a middle-class family in Damascus, Syria.

• He hailed from a Sunni Muslim family in the Golan Heights, Syria.

• Before joining politics, his father, Hussein al-Sharaa, worked as an oil engineer at the Ministry of Petroleum, and his mother was a geography teacher in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

• In 1989, his family moved back to Syria, where his father opened a real estate business and a grocery store.

  

• As a child, Ahmed started working part-time in his father’s grocery store.

• During his youth, al-Sharaa was described as bookish, quiet, and shy. In college, he was also known for his good looks.

• In 2001, Al-Sharaa enrolled at Damascus University, where he studied media studies. While being a university student, every Friday he travelled from Damascus to Aleppo to attend the sermons of Mahmoud Gul Aghasi (Abu al-Qaqaa) there.

• In 2003, Ahmed joined al-Qaeda in Iraq.

  

• In an interview, Ahmed shared that he traveled from Damascus to Baghdad by bus just weeks before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the US and its allies entered Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein.

• In 2003, he was detained and questioned by the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate for his illegal departure from Syria to Iraq; however, he was later released after denying any affiliation with any political parties or extremist groups.

• According to some reports, al-Sharaa was a close associate of AQI leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Although Ahmed al-Sharaa denied all the reports, saying he never met al-Zarqawi and served only as a regular foot-soldier under al-Qaeda.

• In 2006, after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a US airstrike, al-Sharaa left Iraq and moved to Lebanon, where he provided logistical support to the Jund al-Sham jihadist militant group.

• In February 2006, before the beginning of the Iraqi civil war, al-Sharaa returned to Iraq and actively participated in the war. However, he was arrested by the American military while he was planting explosives and imprisoned for over five years.

• In 2011, after his release from an American prison, Al-Sharaa joined the Syrian Revolution, which was a nationwide protest against Bashar al-Assad’s government, demanding political reforms and greater freedoms.

• In August 2011, during the Syrian Civil War, Al-Sharaa was asked to establish a branch of al-Qaeda in Syria. He was given $50,000 (approximately 60 million dinar) by the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

• In 2012, Ahmed founded the ‘ Jabhat al-Nusra Front’ with support from al-Qaeda to fight in the Syrian civil war. As the leader of al-Nusra Front, he established a strong presence in the northwestern Idlib Governorate. He later opposed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), who wanted to merge al-Nusra Front with ISI.

• In December 2012, the US Department of State designated Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization, after identifying its connection with the Islamic State of Iraq, and in May 2013, the US State Department listed al-Sharaa as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

• In 2016, Ahmed al-Sharaa ended al-Nusra Front’s connection with al-Qaeda and began removing members who remained loyal to the group.

• After separating from al-Qaeda, he tried to gain international recognition by portraying a more moderate image. He publicly rejected attacks on Western countries and emphasised running local governance in Syria. Al-Sharaa also pledged to safeguard minority communities within Syria.

• In 2017, Ahmed al-Sharaa united the al-Nusra Front with several other groups to form Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), where he served as emir until 2025. Under his leadership, HTS established a technocratic administration known as the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in the regions it controlled in Idlib Governorate.

• The Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) under his influence managed tax collection, public services, and ID card issuance, though it drew criticism in Idlib for authoritarianism and silencing dissent.

• Under the leadership of al-Sharaa, Idlib saw rapid development with malls, housing, steady electricity, and a university, but faced criticism over customs taxes on goods from Turkey and checkpoint fees on smuggled goods, as well as the economic impact of the Turkish lira’s depreciation, which was the main currency in the region.

• In November 2024, al-Sharaa led an 11-day offensive against the Assad regime, achieving rapid victories across Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus.

• On 1 December 2024, rumours of al-Sharaa’s death were circulated in Arab and social media by a magazine, Al-Usbu, stating that al-Sharaa had been killed in a Russian airstrike; however, the rumour was later disproved on 4 December 2024 when he visited the citadel of Aleppo.

• After Israel’s 8 December 2024 invasion from the Golan Heights, Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, and al-Sharaa emerged as the de facto leader of a post-revolution caretaker government.

• On 29 January 2025, during the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, al-Sharaa was appointed as the president of Syria by the General Command of Syria. Hassan Abdul Ghani stated that during the transition period, al-Sharaa would represent the nation on the international stage.

• As president, al-Sharaa prioritised rebuilding state institutions, unifying armed factions, and restoring diplomatic ties with powers including the U.S., Russia, and regional states.

• In February 2025, during a phone call between al-Sharaa and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Putin expressed his support for the unity and sovereignty of Syria. He also emphasized Russia’s commitment to maintaining its military presence in Syria, including at the naval base in Tartous and the air base in Khmeimim.

• He initiated plans for economic recovery, refugee return, and minority reconciliation, signing an integration agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), though talks remained incomplete.

• Al-Sharaa promoted pragmatic governance, rejected renewed conflict with Israel, and condemned Iranian influence in Syrian affairs.

• He signed an interim constitution, launching a five-year transition period and announcing a transitional government.

• After taking office as president, al-Sharaa visited many countries, such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, Qatar, Turkey, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

• He also attended the Arab League’s emergency summit, the fourth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, and the Arab–Islamic extraordinary summits.

• On 7 May 2025, he met France’s President Emmanuel Macron in France. It was his first official visit to a Western country since becoming president.

• On 14 May 2025, he met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia. This was the first meeting between American and Syrian presidents since Bill Clinton and Hafez al-Assad convened in Geneva in 2000. Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also took part in the meeting.

  

• In September 2025, al-Sharaa participated in and addressed the general debate in the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, and became the first Syrian leader to do so since Nureddin al-Atassi in 1967.

  

• Since 2011, several countries and international bodies have imposed sanctions on Syria; however, under the leadership of al-Sharaa, all the sanctions should be permanently lifted.

• On 30 June 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting sanctions imposed by the United States against Syria, except those linked to the Assad family and their associates and related institutions.

• In 2025, Time 100 recognised him as one of the world’s most influential people.

• Recently, on 15 October 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to strengthen bilateral cooperation and regional developments. According to some reports, he also formally requested the deportation of former President Bashar al-Assad, who has been residing in Russia since December 2024.

• Ahmed al-Sharaa faced multiple threats to his life. According to some reports, he survived two assassination attempts by jihadist groups in June 2025 for rejecting their ideology.

• On 24 June 2025, al-Sharaa was the target of a Hezbollah and ISIS-backed assassination attempt in the Daraa Governorate; however, it was stopped before it could be executed.

• On 16 July 2025, Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, openly called for al-Sharaa’s assassination, referring to him as the “head of the snake” and stating that,

the only thing that can be done is to eliminate al-Julani.”

• Ahmed al-Sharaa enjoys playing basketball, pool, and horse riding in his free time.