Ahmed al-Sharaa

Osama al-Absi al-Wahdi ( ) or Abu Mohammad al-Julani ( ), also written as al-Joulani , al-Jolani , al-Jawlani and al-Golani , born as Osama al-'Absi al-Waahdi , is the leader and emir of al-Nusra Front , also known as Jabhat al-Nusra ( , full name: جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahli ash-Shām , "The Support Front for the People of Sham") and is sometimes called Tanzim Qa'edat Al-Jihad fi Bilad Al-Sham or Al-Qaeda in Syria. Al-Julani was listed by the US State Department as a "specially designated global terrorist" on 16 May 2013. Little is known about Abu Mohammad al-Julani, which is his nom de guerre . The phrase "Al-Julani" is a reference to Syria's Golan Heights , occupied by Israel during the war in 1967. Syrian state television reported in October 2013 that he was killed near Latakia, but SANA (the official Syrian news agency) soon withdrew its report. al-Julani released an audio statement on 28 September 2014, in which he stated he would fight the " United States and its allies" and urged his fighters not to accept help from the West in their battle against ISIS. A Jordanian security official says only the top echelon in al-Qaeda know al-Julani's real name, but he's commonly known to them as "al-Sheikh al-Fateh" (meaning the Conqueror Sheikh in Arabic).

Leader of jihadist organizations in Syria Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a ( ), known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani ( ), is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian militant group Tahrir al-Sham . Before cutting ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016, Joulani had served as the emir of the now-defunct al-Nusra Front , the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda . The US State Department listed Al-Julani as a " Specially Designated Global Terrorist " in May 2013, and four years later announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture. As of February 2021, the bounty remains in force. The nisba "Al-Julani" in his nom de guerre is a reference to Syria's Golan Heights , partially occupied and annexed by Israel during the war in 1967 . Al-Julani released an audio statement on 28 September 2014, in which he stated he would fight the "United States and its allies" and urged his fighters not to accept help from the West in their battle against ISIL . "الجولاني يكشف أسراراً تتعلق بـ النصرة والبغدادي وجيفري يعلق: يجب علينا العمل معه" . أورينت نت . "Julani is a temporary leader of the "Liberation of the Sham" .. This is the fate of its former leader" .

President of Syria since 2025 "Al-Sharaa" and "Julani" redirect here. Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (born 29 October 1982), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani , is a Syrian politician and former rebel commander serving as the president of Syria since January 2025. He previously served as the country's de facto leader from December 2024 until his appointment as president. Born in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia, to a Syrian Sunni Muslim family from the Golan Heights , he grew up in Syria 's capital, Damascus . Al-Sharaa joined al-Qaeda in Iraq shortly before the 2003 invasion of Iraq and fought for three years in the Iraqi insurgency . American forces captured and imprisoned him from 2006 to 2011. His release coincided with the Syrian Revolution against the Ba'athist dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad . Al-Sharaa created the al-Nusra Front in 2012 with the support of al-Qaeda to fight the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war . As emir of the al-Nusra Front, al-Sharaa built a stronghold in the northwestern Idlib Governorate . He resisted Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 's attempts to merge al-Nusra Front with the Islamic State , leading to war between the two groups. In 2016, al-Sharaa cut al-Nusra's ties with al-Qaeda. Since breaking with al-Qaeda, he has sought international legitimacy by presenting a more moderate view of himself, renouncing transnational jihadism against Western nations, and focusing on governance in Syria while vowing to protect Syria's minorities. Al-Sharaa merged al-Nusra with other organizations to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2017, and served as its emir from 2017 to 2025. HTS established a technocratic administration known as the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in the territory it controlled in Idlib Governorate. The SSG collected taxes, provided public services, and issued identity cards to residents, though it faced protests and criticism within Idlib for authoritarian tactics and suppressing dissent. Al-Sharaa launched an 11-day offensive against the Assad regime in November 2024 which saw swift victories in Aleppo , Hama , Homs , and Damascus . Israel invaded southwestern Syria from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia on 8 December 2024. Al-Sharaa was Syria's de facto leader of the post-revolutionary caretaker government from 8 December 2024 until 29 January 2025, when he was appointed president of Syria at the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference held in the presidential palace . As president, al-Sharaa made several official visits to other countries and signed an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces to integrate their military and civil institutions into the Syrian state. He also witnessed an ongoing Assad loyalist insurgency in western Syria and a series of massacres targeting Syrian Alawites . He signed an interim constitution establishing a five-year transition period and announced the formation of a transitional government . In 2025, Time magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people .