President of Syria

President of the Syrian Arab Republic
Standard of the President
Incumbent Bashar al-Assad since 17 July 2000
Residence	People's Palace & Tishreen Palace, Damascus
Term length	Seven years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Shukri al-Quwatli
Formation	17 April 1946

The President of Syria is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. He is vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at his sole discretion, to his Vice Presidents. He appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister and other members of the Council of Ministers (the cabinet) and military officers.

The Constitution of Syria allows the President to run for a 7-year term, which can be renewed once.

According to articles 84 and 85 of the Syrian constitution, the candidate for the office of President of the Republic must:

Also, the Constitution states that "The religion of the President of the Republic is Islam," and that "The State shall respect all religions, and ensure the freedom to perform all the rituals that do not prejudice public order."

Apart from executive authority relating to a wide range of governmental functions including foreign affairs, the president has the right to dissolve the People's Council, in which case a new council must be elected within ninety days from the date of dissolution.