Syrian Interim Government

Syrian Interim government
الحكومة السورية المؤقتة
Emblem of Syrian Interim Government
Overview
Established	18 March 2013
State	Syria (opposition)
Leader	Prime Minister of Syrian Opposition
Appointed by	President of the Syrian Coalition
Main organ	Cabinet
Ministries	7
Responsible to	Syrian Coalition
Headquarters	Gaziantep, Turkey
Website	syriaig.org

The Syrian Interim Government is an alternative government of Syrian Opposition, which has been formed by the opposition umbrella group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The interim government is indirectly controlling some areas of the country and claiming to be the sole legitimate government on behalf of the Syrian Opposition in defiance of the Council of Ministers of Ba'athist Syria. The Interim government is seated in exile in Turkey, and it was suggested to relocate it to a temporary seat in Idlib, North Syria.

At a conference held in Istanbul on 19 March 2013, members of National Coalition elected Ghassan Hitto as prime minister of an interim government for Syria. Hitto has announced that a technical government will be formed which will be led by between 10 and 12 ministers. The minister of defence is to be chosen by the Free Syrian Army. As of 3 April 2013, the organization is "based in exile and lack[s] an organizational base inside Syria." The new ministries will not be placed in a single location but will be distributed in regions which are under the control of the Syrian opposition. The government's main headquarters will be at an undisclosed location close to the Turkish-Syrian border. The health ministry, the interior ministry and the housing ministry have not been filled because the officials chosen did not have 2/3 of the vote to confirm them. A Christian, a Kurd and a woman are part of the appointed cabinet; Ahmad Ramadan, a member of the National Coalition, has stated that the cabinet was appointed on a meritocratic basis. The Assyrian component of the National Coalition has stated that they were not given any attention in the selection of the cabinet. The General Assembly has an administrative function. The interim cabinet was dissolved on 22 July 2014. A new cabinet was formed on 14 October 2014.

In January 2015 the Syrian interim government received $6 million USD from the United States, the first funding of this kind. The funds will 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.