section_path: History/Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024)
section_name: Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024)
paragraph_text: Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024)
  
  Following the 1963 Syrian coup d'état, the first decision of the "Revolution Command Council," chaired by Lu'ay al-Atassi, was to suspend the provisional constitution of the United Arab Republic, arrest President Nazim al-Qudsi and Prime Minister Khalid al-Azm, and impose a state of emergency that lasted for 48 years until it was lifted in April 2011. A new Provisional Constitution was adopted on 25 April 1964, which itself was replaced by the Provisional Constitution of 1 May 1969.
  
  On 31 January 1973, Hafez al-Assad implemented a new constitution, which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the president of Syria must be a Muslim, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama, Homs and Aleppo. The main objection to the constitution from demonstrators was that Islam was not specified as the state religion. In response to riots, the Syrian Constitution of 1973 was amended to stipulate that Islam was the religion of the president. The constitution has been amended twice. Article 6 was amended in 1981.
  
  After securing his control over the Syrian government, Assad initially chose his brother, Rifaat al-Assad, as his successor, but Rifaat's attempted power grab while Hafez was in a coma in 1984 led to his exile in Europe. Following the incident, Bassel al-Assad was groomed to succeed his father. Hafez's efforts to make Bassel the next president of Syria intensified in the early 1990s; after Hafez's election victory in 1991 in an election where Hafez was the only candidate, the president was publicly referred to as "Abu Basil" (Father of Bassel).
  
  Shortly after Bassel died in a car accident in 1994, Bashar al-Assad was recalled to the Syrian Army. State propaganda soon began elevating Bashar's public image as "the hope of the masses" to prepare the public for a continuation of the rule of the Assad family. Soon after the death of Bassel, Hafez al-Assad decided to make Bashar the new heir apparent.
  
  After the death of Hafez al-Assad on 10 June 2000, the Constitution was amended. The minimum age requirement for the presidency was lowered from 40 to 34, which was Bashar's age at the time. A 9-member committee was founded, headed by Abdul Halim Khaddam, to oversee the transition period. He was appointed by this committee as interim President of Syria on 10 June and was in consideration to be Assad's permanent successor, but instead helped Assad's son, Bashar.
  
  The sole candidate of the presidential referendum, Bashar al-Assad was subsequently confirmed president on 10 July 2000, with 97.29% support for his leadership. On 17 July 2000, Assad became president, succeeding his father, Hafez. In line with his role as President of Syria, he was also appointed the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. The existing personality cult portrays him as the "Young Leader" and the "Hope of the People." Drawing influence from North Korea's hereditary leadership model, official propaganda in Syria ascribed divine features to the Assad family, and reveres the Assad patriarchs as the founding fathers of modern Syria.
  
  A new constitution was approved in February 2012 after the start of the Syrian revolution. A series of state elections were held every seven years which Assad won with overwhelming majority of votes. The elections are unanimously regarded by independent observers as a sham process and boycotted by the opposition. The last two elections – held in 2014 and 2021 – were conducted only in areas controlled by the Syrian government during the country's ongoing civil war and condemned by the United Nations.
  
  The 2012 constitution ceased to be in effect after the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024 and was officially phased out on 29 January 2025.