The Presidential Palace () is the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

President of Syria The president of Syria (), officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is the head of state and head of government of Syria. The president directs the executive branch and serves as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army and Syrian ...

. It is located in the western part of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, on Mount Mezzeh, north of Mezzeh

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

, next to

Mount Qasioun Mount Qasioun () is a mountain overlooking the city of Damascus, Syria. It has a range of restaurants, from which the whole city can be viewed. Due to its high elevation, several communications and broadcasting networks constructed relay stat ...

, and overlooks the city. The main building covers 31,500 square metres (340,000 square feet). The entire plateau of Mount Mezzeh is part of the palace compound and is surrounded by a security wall and guard watchtowers. In front of the building is a large fountain and the palace itself largely consists of empty rooms clad in

Carrara marble Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...

History

Ba'athist Syria (1985–2024)

Japanese architect Kenzo Tange is credited with the design. He reputedly resigned from the project before construction of the palace began. The brass front gates were created by the noted Syrian-Jewish metalwork artist Maurice Nseiri. The palace premises cover about 510,000 square metres (5,500,000 square feet) and also includes a private presidential hospital and the headquarters of the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...

commissioned the plans for the building in 1979. has characterised the building as "feudalistic architecture". The palace was frequently used for hosting government delegations and foreign government visitors. On 27 October 1994,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

met

at the palace to negotiate a peace plan between Syria and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Post-Ba'athist Syria (2024–present)

On 8 December 2024, during Syrian opposition offensives, anti-Assad forces entered the palace.

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

fled Syria, seeking asylum in Russia, resulting in the fall of his regime. As of April 2025 the palace is used for diplomatic functions by the Syrian transitional government. On 29 January 2025, the palace hosted the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, attended by commanders of various armed revolutionary factions who fought for the

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

coalition against the deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad. Between 24–25 February 2025, the palace hosted the Syrian National Dialogue Conference as part of the Syrian caretaker government to pave the way for national unity following the fall of the Assad regime. On 29 March 2025, the

Syrian transitional government The Syrian transitional government () is the current provisional government of Syria, formed on 29 March 2025 under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. It succeeded the Syrian caretaker government headed by Mohammed al-Bashir. The government was ...

was announced by Syrian President

Ahmed al-Sharaa 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 coun ...

at a ceremony at the palace, in which the new ministers were sworn in and delivered speeches outlining their agendas. On 2 May 2025, after the Syrian transitional government clashed with Druze militias south of Damascus, the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

fired missiles at parts of Mount Mezzeh and areas near the presidential palace. The airstrike was a "message" to al-Sharaa to halt his offensive against the Druze.

References

{{Damascus Palaces in Syria Government of Syria Presidential residences Buildings and structures completed in 1990 Buildings and structures in Damascus 1990 establishments in Syria