Who is included in the new Syrian government?

The new government reflects the changes taking place in Syria since the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime, in particular, the participation of representatives of religious and ethnic minorities in governing the country and greater openness to the West than in the decades following its transition.

For the first time, the country has a sports ministry, one of the departments is headed by an Alawite, and the post of labor minister is held by a Christian woman.

"We are witnesses to the beginning of a new stage in our national path, and the formation of a new government today is a declaration of our common will to build a new state," al-Shar'a was quoted as saying in a speech at the ceremony announcing the composition of the government, according to the state news agency SANA.

The Syrian government does not have a separate prime minister. The president holds executive power.

Al-Sharaa, a former rebel leader who helped topple President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, became Syria's interim president in January 2025. He promised to form an inclusive transitional government that would "rule the country honestly" and respect the rights of all Syrians, including women and ethnic minorities.

After that, the new Syrian leader promised to hold "free and fair elections." This transition period, al-Sharaa said at the time, could last four years.

The newly expanded cabinet includes 23 ministers, including Alawites, Druze and Christians, according to Reuters.

Another minority, the Kurds, is not in the government.

The Alawites are represented in the new government by Yarub Badr, who was appointed Minister of Transport. The Shiite sect makes up about 10 percent of Syria's population (the country's majority is Sunni Muslim). The Assad family, which has ruled Syria for more than half a century, is also Alawite.

Hundreds of civilians were killed in a crackdown on an Alawite uprising in Syria's Mediterranean coastal areas in early March, in what the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called "the most widespread and brutal killings" in the country since the Assad regime was overthrown in December 2024.

The new government has acknowledged violations committed during the operation against the so-called "remnants of Assad's volunteers." They have blamed the violence on unorganized groups and armed militants who tried to support official security forces.

Al-Shar'a promised at the time that "all those involved in bloodshed among the civilian population or harming national unity will be held accountable without mercy."

The new Minister of Agriculture, Amgad Badr, belongs to the Druze community - an Arab ethno-confessional group. Up to 850 thousand Druze previously lived in Syria.

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A Christian woman was also included in Al-Shar'a's government. Hind Kabawat was an opponent of the Assad regime and advocated interfaith tolerance and the expansion of women's rights and opportunities, Reuters recalls. Kabawat serves as Minister of Social Policy and Labor. He attended the presentation of the cabinet of ministers in a white suit and trousers.

Two ministers - Murhaf Abu Kasra and Asad al-Shaibani - retained their positions as defense and foreign ministers in the interim government that has ruled Syria since December 2024, when the Assad regime fell.

Sharia also created two new ministries - the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, in particular, Rayad al-Salah, the head of the popular civil organization of volunteers "White Helmets", became the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The emergence of a ministry in Syria that will deal with the development of sports and youth policy, according to al-Sharra, reflects "the belief in the important role of young people."

In mid-March, Ahmed al-Sharra signed a declaration of an interim constitution that will be in effect in the country during the transition period. The declaration retained the central role of Islamic law and guaranteed women's rights and freedom of speech, and it also retained some provisions of the old Syrian constitution.

Recall that in early December 2024, opposition forces against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad entered Damascus and seized power. Assad fled with his family to Moscow. Ahmed al-Shar'a, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that led the opposition forces against him, became the interim president of Syria.

After Ahmed al-Shar'a came to power, Western leaders began to consider lifting sanctions against the country. However, they stated that relations with the new government would only be possible if the political process and the interim government ensured ethnic and religious diversity in the country. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”