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 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 ...

. The interim government indirectly controls some areas of the country and claims to be the sole legitimate government on behalf of the

Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian govern ...

in defiance of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

of the

Syrian Arab Republic Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. The interim government's headquarters in Syria are located in the city of Azaz in

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of ...

History

At a conference held in Istanbul on 19 March 2013, the

Syrian National Coalition 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 ...

(SNC) elected Ghassan Hitto as prime minister of a Syrian

interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

. Hitto announced that a technical government would be formed led by 10 to 12 ministers, with the

minister of defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

to be chosen by 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 ...

. At first, the SIG was "based in exile and lack dan organizational base inside Syria." It was intended that the new ministries would not be placed in a single location but distributed in regions under the control of the

. A Christian, a Kurd and a woman were part of the first cabinet;

Ahmad Ramadan Ahmad Ramadan is the former 'Director of Information Office of Muammar Gaddafi', until Tripoli was taken by anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi ...

of the SNC stated that the cabinet was appointed on a meritocratic basis. The Assyrian component of the National Coalition said that they were not given any attention in the selection of the cabinet. Its General Assembly has an administrative function. The first interim cabinet was dissolved in July 2014. A new cabinet was formed in October 2014. The SIG has been the primary civilian authority throughout most of Syria's opposition-held areas. Its system of administrative local councils operate services such as schools and hospitals in these areas. In December 2015, the SIG founded the Free Aleppo University (FAU), as an alternative to government-run universities; an estimated 7,000 students were enrolled in FAU in early 2018, with campuses in opposition-held territory across five provinces. In January 2018, the SIG moved the University's administration from Idlib to the west Aleppo town of Bashqateen. In late September 2016, the Syrian interim government minister for local administration was among a dozen people killed by an ISIL suicide bomber in the southern city of

Inkhil Inkhil ( ar, أنخل, Ankhil) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the al-Sanamayn District of the Daraa Governorate. It is located north of Daraa and just east of the Golan Heights in the Hauran plain. In the 2004 census by t ...

. The interim government was based in Turkey and has received direct funding from the United States. In January 2015, the Syrian interim government received US$6 million from the United States, the first funding of this kind. The funds were to 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. By August 2017, the Syrian interim government stopped paying salaries to workers, and work within the interim government became

voluntary work Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

. As the Turkish occupation of northern Syria grew from 2016, the SIG moved into the Turkish-controlled territories and began to exert partial authority there, including providing documents to Syrian citizens. By late 2017, the SIG presided over 12 provincial councils and over 400 elected local councils. It held elections across

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة ادلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Ham ...

in 2017. It also operates a major border crossing between Syria and Turkey, which generates an estimated $1 million revenue each month. In opposition areas outside the Turkish-occupied ones, the SIG has been in conflict with the Islamist

Syrian Salvation Government The Syrian Salvation Government () is a de facto alternative government of the Syrian opposition in Idlib Governorate, formed in early November 2017. There followed weeks of conflict between the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) and the Syrian I ...

for control since September 2017. On 30 December 2017, at least 30 factions operating under the banner of the Syrian Interim Government merged in a unified armed group after four months of preparations. Jawad Abu Hatab, the SIG's Prime Minister and Defence Minister, announced the formation of the

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian op ...

(SNA) after meeting with rebel commanders in the town of Azaz. The newly formed body claimed to have 22,000 fighters, many of them trained and equipped by Turkey. The

National Front for Liberation The National Front for Liberation ( ar, الجبهة الوطنية للتحرير, ''Al-Jabhat al-Wataniya lil-Tahrir'') is a Syrian rebel coalition that is part of the Syrian National Army (SNA) fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The group was ...

is also aligned to the Syrian Interim Government, and eventually became a subgroup of the SNA.

List of presidents

Prime ministers

List of ministers

Population centers

This list includes some of the largest cities and towns under the Syrian Interim Government.

References