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Syrian Interim Government
الحكومة السورية المؤقتة
Coat of arms
Overview
Established	March 18, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-03-18)
State	Areas under Turkish occupation in Syria
Leader	Abdurrahman Mustafa
Appointed by	President of the Syrian National Coalition
Main organ	Cabinet
Ministries	7
Responsible to	Syrian National Coalition
Headquarters	Azaz, Syria

Politics of Syrian opposition
Symbols Flag Coat of arms
Constitution Antalya conference (2011) Human rights
Executive Syrian Interim Government Prime Minister: Abdurrahman Mustafa President: Hadi al-Bahra Syrian Salvation Government Prime Minister: Mohammed al-Bashir President: Mustafa al-Mousa
Legislature Syrian National Coalition Syrian National Council National Coordination Committee
Administrative divisions Capital Governorates Districts
Political parties Syrian National Coalition Syrian National Council National Coordination Committee
Foreign relations HNC SNC recognition Arab League membership
Other countries
v t e

The Syrian Interim Government (SIG) is an alternative government in Syria, formed by the umbrella opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SNC) and claims to be the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The Syrian Interim Government constitute a separate administration in Turkish-controlled territories in northern Syria and has partial authority there. The interim government's headquarters in Syria are located in the city of Azaz in Aleppo Governorate.

Since the fall of the Assad regime, the SIG currently coexists with the Syrian transitional government headed in Damascus by Mohammed al-Bashir, though the SNC has expressed its support for the transitional government and called for the formation of a government that would be "inclusive of everyone".

History

At a conference held in Istanbul on 19 March 2013, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) elected Ghassan Hitto as prime minister of a Syrian interim government. Hitto announced that a technical government would be formed led by 10 to 12 ministers, with the minister of defence to be chosen by the Free Syrian Army. At first, the SIG was "based in exile and lack an organizational base inside Syria." It was intended that the new ministries would not be placed in a single location but distributed in regions under the control of the Syrian opposition.

A Christian, a Kurd and a woman were part of the first cabinet; Ahmad Ramadan of the SNC stated that the cabinet was appointed on a meritocratic basis. The Assyrian component of the National Coalition said that they were not given any attention in the selection of the cabinet. Its General Assembly has an administrative function. The first interim cabinet was dissolved in July 2014. A new cabinet was formed in October 2014.

The SIG has been the primary civilian authority throughout most of Syria's opposition-held areas. Its system of administrative local councils operate services such as schools and hospitals in these areas. In December 2015, the SIG founded the Free Aleppo University (FAU), as an alternative to government-run universities; an estimated 7,000 students were enrolled in FAU in early 2018, with campuses in opposition-held territory across five provinces. In January 2018, the SIG moved the University's administration from Idlib to the west Aleppo town of Bashqateen. In late September 2016, the Syrian interim government minister for local administration was among a dozen people killed by an ISIL suicide bomber in the southern city of Inkhil.

The interim government was based in Turkey and has received direct funding from the United States. In January 2015, the Syrian interim government received US$6 million from the United States, the first funding of this kind. The funds were to be used for reconstruction efforts and the strengthening of local government in opposition-held parts of Syria such as northern Aleppo and northwestern Idlib, with the interim government planning to expand into northern Latakia and northern Hama in the following months. By August 2017, the Syrian interim government stopped paying salaries to workers, and work within the interim government became voluntary work. As the Turkish occupation of northern Syria grew from 2016, the SIG moved into the Turkish-controlled territories and began to exert partial authority there, including providing documents to Syrian citizens.

By late 2017, the SIG presided over 12 provincial councils and over 400 elected local councils. It held elections across Idlib Governorate in 2017. It also operates a major border crossing between Syria and Turkey, which generates an estimated $1 million revenue each month. In opposition areas outside the Turkish-occupied ones, the SIG has been in conflict with the Islamist Syrian Salvation Government for control since September 2017.

On 30 December 2017, at least 30 factions operating under the banner of the Syrian Interim Government merged in a unified armed group after four months of preparations. Jawad Abu Hatab, the SIG's Prime Minister and Defence Minister, announced the formation of the Syrian National Army (SNA) after meeting with rebel commanders in the town of Azaz. The newly formed body claimed to have 22,000 fighters, many of them trained and equipped by Turkey. The National Front for Liberation is also aligned to the Syrian Interim Government, and eventually became a subgroup of the SNA.

Prime ministers

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Political party		Note(s)
—		Ghassan Hitto Acting Prime Minister	18 March 2013	14 September 2013	Independent		Failed to form a government; resigned on 8 July.
1		Ahmad Tu'mah	14 September 2013	22 July 2014	Independent		—
(1)		Ahmad Tu'mah	14 October 2014	17 May 2016	Independent		Second term.
2		Jawad Abu Hatab	17 May 2016	10 March 2019	Independent		—
3		Abdurrahman Mustafa	30 June 2019	Incumbent	Syrian Turkmen Assembly		—

List of ministers

See also

• Politics of Syria
• Syrian Civil War
• Syrian Salvation Government
• Syrian National Council
• Foreign relations of the Syrian Opposition

References

1. SyriaSource by Hosam al-Jablawi Has the International Community Succeeded in Creating a Safe Zone in Syria After Years of War? Archived 23 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine atlanticcouncil.org 17 April 2017
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3. "Russia and Turkey Have Agreed to Create 'Safe Zones' in Syria, But Rebels Are Unimpressed". Time. Associated Press. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
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10. ^ "Syrian opposition coalition dissolves interim government". Reuters. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
11. ^ "HTS-backed civil authority moves against rivals in latest power grab in northwest Syria". Syria Direct. 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
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13. At least 13 persons including the minister of “interim government” killed in explosion at police station in Inkhel Archived 15 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine SOHR, 22 September 2016
14. ISIS suicide attack rocks rebel HQ in southern Syria Archived 7 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine Al Masdar, 22 September 2016
15. ^ "US gives $6 million to Syria opposition government". Agence France-Presse. 22 January 2015. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
16. "The Syrian interim government stopped paying salaries and volunteering work". Micro Syria. 8 August 2017. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
17. "Safe zone 'crucial for Turkmen in Syria'". aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
18. "Has the International Community Succeeded in Creating a Safe Zone in Syria After Years of War?". 17 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
19. Macaron, Joe. "Trump's 'real estate' approach to safe zones in Syria". aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
20. "Turkey's troops cross over into Syria's Afrin". aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
21. "Suriye'de güvenli bölge planları ne kadar gerçekçi? | DW | 28.09.2019". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
22. "30 rebel groups merge under Interim Govt's banner, form 'The National Army'". Zaman al-Wasl. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
23. "Al-Khodr re-elected PM of Syrian interim government". KUNA. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
24. al-Khateb, Khaled (15 March 2019). "Is this the end of the Syrian Interim Government?". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
25. "Syrian Coalitions' General Assembly Elects New Presidential & Political Bodies & New SIG Head". National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. 30 June 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.

• Syrian Interim Government
• 2013 establishments in Syria
• National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces
• Governments in exile
• States with limited recognition