Following the overthrow of Bashir al-Assad on Dec. 13, 2024, Syria looks to set up a new government, inclusive to all aspects of Syrian society. Syria has set up a caretaker government that will lead the country through rebuilding efforts until March 1, when plans for a permanent government are set to be established.
Leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — the Islamist militant group responsible for the overthrow of Assad — Ahmed al-Sharaa has appointed Mohammed al-Bashir, the head of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in Idlib, prime minister of the Syrian caretaker government.
The United States (U.S.) and other western countries have designated HTS as a terrorist organization, Sharaa even had a $10 million bounty on his head, which was recently lifted. Sharaa has denied any allegations that HTS was a terrorist group, claiming that “they did not target civilian or civilian areas.” Instead, he stated, “They considered themselves to be victims of the crimes of the Assad regime.”

De facto leader Sharaa shared in an interview with the BBC that Syria is “exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbours or to the West.” Sharaa is currently urging the international community to lift sanctions on Syria, stating, “Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way.”
Many things for Syria’s future government are still undetermined. During his interview with the BBC, Sharaa shared that “there are many things I just don’t have the right to talk about because they are legal issues … [A] Syrian committee of legal experts [will] write a constitution. They will decide. And any ruler or president will have to follow the law.”
Following the Syrian uprisings that erupted in 2011, Idlib — a province in northwestern Syria — became a Syrian opposition stronghold. By 2017, HTS consolidated control over the area and created SSG out of civilian experts.

First emerging as minister in 2021, the Shura Council elected al-Bashir Prime Minister of SSG in 2024. According to expert on Syria Robin Yassin-Kassab, “Mohammed al-Bashir … has done a reasonably good job in Idlib … I understand that it makes sense to scale [the Salvation Government] up to the whole of Syria, for now.”
For the time being, al-Bashir shared that the ministers from the SSG would take over the national ministerial portfolios in Syria. According to Al Jazeera, the new Syrian caretaker ministers are as follows:
Minister of Interior: Mohammed Abdul Rahman
Minister of Economy and Resources: Basel Abdul Aziz
Minister of Information: Muhammad Yaqoub al-Omar
Minister of Justice: Shadi Muhammad al-Waisi
Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation: Mohamed Taha al-Ahmad
Minister of Health: Mazen Dukhan
Minister of Development: Fadi al-Qassem
Minister of Local Administration and Services: Mohamed Abdel Rahman Muslim
Minister of Endowments: Hussam Haj Hussein
Minister of Education: Nazir al-Qadri
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research: Abdel Moneim Abdel Hafez
Experts are concerned that Syria’s caretaker government has no intention to consolidate power over to Syria. Executive director of Baytna — a non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports local civil society groups in Syria —- Assaad Al Achi stated, “What worries me is if [this caretaker government] extends [its leadership] for more than three months, but if it just for three months … then that’s alright.”
Yassin-Kassab explained to Al Jazeera that HTS could ease these concerns by creating a roadmap detailing plans for future governance of Syria.