The Syrian caretaker government (), or the Mohammed al-Bashir government, was the provisional government of Syria. It was established in December 2024 by the Syrian opposition after the Syrian General Command appointed Mohammed al-Bashir as prime minister, replacing Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali on 10 December. This came after the fall of the Assad regime and the exile of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. On 8 December 2024, hours after the fall of Damascus, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, the outgoing prime minister and last head of government of the Ba'athist regime, agreed to lead the transitional government in a caretaking capacity. He then transferred power to Mohammed al-Bashir, prime minister of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), two days later.
On 29 January 2025, Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed as the president of Syria for the transitional period during the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference in Damascus, after serving as the de facto leader following the fall of the Assad regime. As president, al-Sharaa announced plans to issue a "constitutional declaration" as a legal reference following the repeal of the 2012 constitution of Ba'athist Syria.
On 13 March, he signed the Constitutional Declaration for a five-year transitional period, enshrining Islamic law as a source of jurisprudence and promising to protect the rights of all of Syria’s ethnic and religious groups. On 29 March, the caretaker administration was succeeded by the Syrian transitional government.
Background
On 27 November 2024, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced that it had launched an offensive, dubbed "Deterrence of Aggression," against pro-government forces in western Aleppo Governorate. The offensive was led by HTS and supported mainly by the Syrian National Army as part of the ongoing Syrian civil war that began with the Syrian Revolution in 2011. This was the first military offensive launched by opposition forces in the Syrian civil war since the Idlib ceasefire in March 2020. On 29 November, HTS entered Aleppo and seized control of most of the city as pro-government forces collapsed. The following day, opposition forces swiftly advanced, taking control of numerous towns and villages while pro-government troops fell apart. They then pushed toward Hama in central Syria, ultimately capturing it on 5 December.
By 6 December, the newly formed Southern Operations Room seized Daraa and Suwayda in a southern offensive, while HTS advanced further south toward Homs. The US-backed Syrian Free Army took control of Palmyra in the southeast of the country. On 7 December, Southern Operations Room forces advanced into the Rif Dimashq Governorate from the south, reaching within of Damascus. Rebel forces advanced towards Damascus while simultaneously launching an offensive into the city of Homs, eventually reaching the suburbs of the capital.
On 8 December, the Assad regime finally collapsed. The capture of Damascus marked the end of the Assad family's rule, which had governed Syria as a hereditary sectarian totalitarian regime since Hafez al-Assad assumed power in 1970 following a coup d'état. As a rebel coalition moved closer to Damascus, reports indicated that Bashar al-Assad had fled the capital by plane to Russia, where he joined his exiled family and was granted political asylum by the Russian government. After his departure, opposition forces announced their victory on state television. At the same time, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed his resignation and departure from Syria.
Formation
Transition of power Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Syrian Salvation Government, stated on Telegram that Syrian public institutions would not immediately be taken over by force and would instead temporarily be held by the Syrian prime minister, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, until the full political transition was completed. Al-Jalali announced in a social media video that he planned to stay in Damascus and cooperate with the Syrian people while expressing hope that Syria could become "a normal country" and begin to engage in diplomacy with other nations. Jalali also expressed his readiness to "extend its hand" to the opposition.
Hadi al-Bahra, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, said that an 18-month transitional period was needed to establish "a safe, neutral, and quiet environment" for free elections. This period includes six months to draft a new constitution. This transition, according to al-Bahra, should be in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254.
On 9 December 2024, following the fall of the Assad regime, the prime minister of the Syrian Salvation Government, Mohammed al-Bashir, was tasked with forming a transitional government after meeting with al-Sharaa and outgoing Syrian prime minister al-Jalali to coordinate the transfer of power. The next day, al-Bashir was officially appointed by the Syrian General Command as the prime minister of the transitional government. In a televised statement, al-Bashir announced that officials from the Salvation Government met with representatives of the previous government to facilitate the handover of power and that his cabinet from the Salvation Government would assume their corresponding roles in the transitional government.
Integration of other Syrian authorities
On 11 December 2024, the Syrian transitional government began negotiations to dissolve all non-state armed groups in the country. The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) remained autonomous after the fall of the Assad regime and its military wing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) would clash with the new military, which included former SNA factions. Leaders of the Southern Operations Room also met with al-Sharaa on 11 December and expressed interest in "coordination", a "unified effort", and "cooperation" without stating that they would support the HTS transitional government.
On 18 December, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which operates the Syrian Interim Government in Turkish-occupied zones, expressed its support for al-Bashir's government. The SNC called for a national conference and for the formation of a government that would be "inclusive of all groups" and "represent all Syrian components".
On 29 December 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa stated in a televised interview that Syrian Democratic Forces would be integrated into Syria's Ministry of Defense and that negotiations were underway. In response, the SDF said it was ready to cooperate with al-Sharaa to be the "nucleus of the Syrian army".
On 18 January 2025, Akram Mahshoush, head of the al-Hasakah Elders Council, stated that a civilian delegation was being formed to "visit Damascus and discuss the state of civil and service institutions".
On 30 January 2025, Abdurrahman Mustafa, head of the Syrian Interim Government in northern Syria congratulated Ahmed Al-Sharaa as president, it was also announced that the SIG was to be at the disposal of the transitional government. The transitional government started to deploy its forces into the areas under the SIG control in February, as the Syrian National Army started to integrate into the newly formed Syrian Army. Government forces started to dismantle barracks and other military infrastructure in the area.
On 12 February 2025, al-Shaara met with representatives of the Syrian National Coalition and the Syrian Negotiation Commission, including their respective presidents Hadi al-Bahra and Bader Jamous. It was announced that both organizations would dissolve within the new authorities. On the same day, Minister for Foreign Affairs Asaad al-Shaibani announced that a new government would be formed by 1 March, which "will represent the Syrian people as much as possible and take its diversity into account".
On 10 March 2025, an agreement was signed to integrate the SDF into the structures of the transitional government.
Women in government
The initial prime minister and cabinet, together consisted of twelve men and no women. , it had extended to sixteen men and no women. On 22 December, Aisha al-Dibs, a human rights activist, was appointed as the first woman minister in the cabinet, as Head of Women's Affairs. On 30 December, Maysaa Sabreen was appointed as Syria's first female head of the Central Bank of Syria. Sabreen had been the first deputy director of the bank during the final stages of Assad's rule. On 31 December 2024, the caretaker administration appointed Muhsina al-Mahithawi, a Druze female activist who participated in the anti-Assad Southern Syrian protests, as governor of Suwayda Governorate. For comparison, the previous Ba'athist cabinet had three female ministers, Lubanah Mshaweh, Diala Barakat, and Lamia Chakkour, out of 29 ministers.
On 18 December, HTS spokesperson Obaida Arnaout gave an interview in which he stated that "the essence of women and their biological and psychological nature do not fit all positions, such as the Ministry of Defense," and, "As for women's representation in ministerial and parliamentary roles, we believe that this matter is premature and should be left to legal and constitutional experts who will work on rethinking the structure of the new Syrian state." There was widespread criticism online in reaction to Arnaout's statement. Milena Zain al-Din from Damascus University disagreed with the spokesperson's statement, stating, "We, the young women and women of Syria, are activists, politicians, human rights advocates, journalists, economists, academics, workers, and homemakers. Obeida Arnaout's rhetoric is unacceptable. The Syrian woman, who has struggled and endured alongside millions of Syrian women, is not waiting for you to choose a place or role for her that aligns with your mindset for building our nation."
Following the controversy of Arnaout's comments, the transitional government announced the establishment of the Women's Affairs Office four days later and Aisha al-Dibs' appointment as a minister of the Offices. A week later, on 29 December, al-Dibs' statements on women's rights, in which she stated that she would "not accept any opinion of feminist organizations or others that contradict the government's ideological orientation, or are incompatible with the government model" were widely criticized by Syrians.
In early 2025, Arnaout made another statement in an interview with a Lebanese TV channel, where he stated that, according to him, though women "certainly have the right to learn and receive education in any field", that "for women to assume judicial authority" would be placed under "closer examination and study by specialists". Having doubled down on his stance on women having "obstacles" in the form of "emotional and physiological limitations", this raised concerns that female court judges could be dismissed from their positions and forced to end their legal careers due to the fundamental restructuring of the country's legal system along HTS lines, which could forbid women from employment in the judiciary.
When asked about the situation, Aisha al-Dibs stated that she refuses to comment on the future role of women in the judiciary, which would be determined by a new constitution, except that Syria's future judicial system will be based on Islamic law. Al-Dibs specifically rejected the notion of a secular or civilian judicial system, saying that she would "not open the way for those that disagree with her" when asked if women's rights organizations in the country would be allowed autonomy, accepting only those organizations, whose support aligns with the HTS vision for Syria.
Policies Economic reforms