Anas al-Abdah (born 1967) is a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

politician who served as President of the

Syrian Interim Government 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. The interim government indirectly controls some areas ...

from 2019 to 2021.

Early life

Anas al-Abdah was born in a suburb of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. He later studied

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

in the

Yarmouk University Yarmouk University ( ar, جامعة اليرموك), also abbreviated YU, is a comprehensive public and state supported university located near the city centre of Irbid in northern Jordan. Since its establishment in 1976, Yarmouk University (YU) ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

and received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

at the

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Political history

In 2006 Anas al-Abdah and other Syrian opposition activists founded the

Movement for Justice and Development in Syria The Movement for Justice and Development in Syria ( ar, حركة العدالة والبناء في سورية ''Ḥarakat Al-'Idalat Wal-Bana'a fi Suriyah'') is a political party and movement founded in the year 2006 and based in London, United Ki ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In the same year, he joined the Damascus Declaration and became one of its representatives abroad. After the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, he co-founded the

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al- Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil national syrien), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syri ...

and was elected as the council's secretariat. The council later joined the

National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية), commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) ( ar, الائتلاف الو ...

. Anas al-Abdah became a part of the SNC's delegate at the

Geneva II Conference on Syria The Geneva II Conference on Syria (also called Geneva II Middle East peace conference or simply Geneva IIUN News Center. ''Preparations for upcoming Syria peace conference 'on track,’ says UN chief''. "The goal of the so-called "Geneva II" ...

. On 5 March 2016, Anas al-Abdah was elected as the president of the National Coalition, succeeding

Khaled Khoja Khaled Khoja ( ar, خالد خوجة, tr, Halid Hoca, born 4 July 1965) is a Syrian- Turkish politician. He was the president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from 2015 to 2016. He was born to a Turkish ...

. On 9 November 2016, the National Coalition under Nas al-Abdah sent congratulations to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

after the latter was elected as the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. He also called on

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...

to impose

economic sanctions Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they may ...

on Russia. On 5 December 2016, Anas al-Abdah, spoke in a press conference in

Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. Hu ...

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...

, that the Rojava Peshmerga forces based in Iraqi Kurdistan would be a stabilizing factor if they moved to Syria and supported the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

factions backed by the SNC. He said that the offensive the YPG-led

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

(SDF) launched last month to retake the city of

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...

, will lead to sectarian conflicts in the future as YPG and allied groups such as FSA groups are not qualified militarily and civically for retaking Raqqa, only FSA groups supported by the SNC are the qualified force to retake Raqqa. He resigned from his post on 6 May 2017 and was replaced by Riad Seif. On 29 June 2019 he was elected as President of the

, replacing

Abdurrahman Mustafa Abdurrahman Mustafa (born 1964) is a Syrian Turkmen politician who is the incumbent president of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, the umbrella organization of the Turkmen political movements in Syria, and the political leader of the Turkmen national ...

, whom he appointed as Prime Minister the following day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdah, Anas 1967 births Living people National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces members 21st-century Syrian politicians Yarmouk University alumni Alumni of Newcastle University Politicians from Damascus