{{Short description|Syrian politician and diplomat (born 1938)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Farouk al-Sharaa | native_name = {{nobold|فاروق الشرع}} | native_name_lang = ar | image = Farouk Shara.jpg | caption = Sharaa in 2004 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|12|10|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Daraa]], [[First Syrian Republic|Syria]] | alma_mater = [[University of London]]<br />[[University of Damascus]] | office = [[Vice President of Syria]] | alongside = [[Najah al-Attar]] | term_start = 21 February 2006 | term_end = 19 July 2014<ref name="SyVp1">{{Cite web|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2014/07/20/Syria-s-Assad-reappoints-woman-VP-but-mum-on-Sharaa|title = Syria's Assad reappoints woman VP but mum on Sharaa|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=20 July 2014|access-date=14 July 2024}}</ref> | president = [[Bashar al-Assad]] | predecessor = [[Zuhair Masharqa]]<br />[[Abdul Halim Khaddam]] | successor = Najah al-Attar | office2 = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Syria)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] | president2 = [[Hafez al-Assad]]<br />[[Bashar al-Assad]] | term_start2 = 1 March 1984 | term_end2 = 21 February 2006 | predecessor2 = [[Abdul-Halim Khaddam]] | successor2 = [[Walid Muallem]] | office3 = Member of the [[Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Central Command]] of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Ba'ath Party]] | term_start3 = 21 June 2000 | term_end3 = 8 July 2013 | party = [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Ba'ath Party]] }} {{Politics of Syria}} '''Farouk al-Sharaa'''{{efn|{{langx|ar|فاروق الشرع}}}} (born 10 December 1938) is a Syrian politician and diplomat. He was one of the most prominent officials in the [[Ba'athist Syria#Politics and government|government of Ba'athist Syria]] and served as [[foreign minister]] from 1984 to 2006, then as [[Vice President of Syria|vice president]] until 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/world/middleeast/28syria.html?partner=rss&emc=rss|title=Syria Tries to Ease Deep Political Crisis|last=Slackman|first=Michael|date=28 March 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=28 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="SyVp1" />
==Early life and education== Sharaa was born in [[Daraa]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dohainstitute.org/en/News/Pages/Farouk_Al_Sharaa_Speaks_an_English_Preface_to_the_Memoirs_by_Farouk_Al_Sharaa_Now_Available.aspx|title=Farouk Al Sharaa Speaks: an English Preface to the Memoirs by Farouk Al Sharaa Now Available|date=27 January 2015|website=www.dohainstitute.org|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-30}}</ref> on 10 December 1938 to a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]]<ref name=eu>{{cite web|title=List of persons and entities referred to in articles 3 and 4|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:164:0020:0021:EN:PDF|publisher=Official Journal of the European Union|access-date=19 July 2012|date=24 June 2011}}</ref><ref name=ttofi1112/> family that originates from the [[Daraa Governorate]].<ref name="crs9711">{{cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/4edc93042.html|title=Unrest in Syria and U.S. Sanctions Against the Asad Regime|last=Sharp|first=Jeremy M.|date=9 November 2011|website=refworld|publisher=Congressional Research Service|format=CRS Report for Congress|access-date=30 April 2019}}</ref> He studied [[English language]] at the [[University of Damascus]] in the 1960s, earning a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[English literature|English Literature]] in 1963. In 1971 and 1972 he took courses in [[international law]] at the [[University of London]].<ref name=Kechichian>{{cite news|title=Farouk Al Shara'a: Affable yet wily diplomat|url=http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/farouk-al-shara-a-affable-yet-wily-diplomat-1.1065417|last=Kechichian|first=Joseph|newspaper=[[Gulf News]]|date=25 August 2012|access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref>
==Early career (1963–1989)== [[File:نزار داودي ومحمود الزعبي وفاروق الشرع.jpg|250px|[[Mahmoud Al-Zoubi]] in the middle between Nizar Daoudi and Farouk al-Sharaa, in Tehran condoling the death of [[Imam Khomeini]], 1989.|thumb]] In 1963, Sharaa became a member of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Ba'ath Party]]’s central committee.<ref name=alarab9july/> He served as regional manager of the state-run [[Syrian Arab Airlines]] in [[London]] from 1968 to 1972 and as commercial director in Damascus from 1972 to 1976.<ref name="alarab9july" /> Between 1977 and 1980, he served as Syria's ambassador to [[Italy]].<ref name=alarab9july/> In 1980, he was named deputy foreign minister. In 1984, Sharaa was appointed as acting minister of information. In March 1984, [[Hafez al-Assad]], then president of Syria, named him [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (Syria)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]].
==Old guard of the Assad government (1990–2000)== [[File:Photograph of President William J. Clinton Meeting with Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa of Syria - DPLA - b6ae44d8bd76c40b036af45486c53500.jpg|250px|thumb|Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa meeting with the US President [[Bill Clinton]] in [[White House]] in 1993.]]
Sharaa has remained an old guard of the Assad administration. He has been very active in negotiating with many countries to gain better relations for Syria. Much of this negotiation has involved Syria's relationships with [[Lebanon]] and [[Israel]]. Sharaa maintains that Israel should give back all of the [[Golan Heights]], the territory it took from Syria in the [[Six-Day War|1967 War]]. Between 1991 and 1993 he led negotiations in the [[Barcelona Process]] and with the US Presidents [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2531781/will-syrian-israeli-negotiations-resume|title=Will the Syrian-Israeli Negotiations Resume?|publisher=Asharq Al-Awsat|access-date=11 July 2024|date=27 September 2020}}</ref>
He was involved in two attempts to negotiate a reconciliation with Israel in December 1999, when he held a meeting with [[Ehud Barak]] and Bill Clinton in [[White House]], with the goal of resuming Israeli–Syrian peace negotiations that were stalled since early 1996.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ecf.org.il/issues/issue/210 | title=Washington Talks (December 1999) }}</ref> The peace talks summit continued until January 2000 in [[Shepherdstown, West Virginia]], but never materialized.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://telaviv.usembassy.gov/publish/peace/archives/2000/january/me0103c.html |title=Israel and Syria Open Peace Talks in Shepherdstown, West Virginia |first=William B. |last=Reinckens |date=January 3, 2000 |work=Washington File |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041107131643/http://telaviv.usembassy.gov/publish/peace/archives/2000/january/me0103c.html |archive-date=November 7, 2004 |access-date=April 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kilian|first=Michael|title=Momentous Talks in a Quiet Town|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-01-03-0001030081-story.html|access-date=March 26, 2021|website=chicagotribune.com|date=3 January 2000 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Under Bashar al-Assad (2000–2011)== [[File:Vladimir Putin 16 April 2001-2.jpg|250px|thumb|Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa meeting with President of Russia [[Vladimir Putin]] in [[Kremlin]] in 2001.]]
After [[Hafez al-Assad]]'s death in June 2000, his son [[Bashar al-Assad]] reshuffled his cabinet several times to remove several long-time members. Sharaa, however, remained in office, and became one of the longest-serving foreign ministers in the world. It was believed that Sharaa might be forced to resign when, in October 2005, he was accused of misleading international investigators in letters about the investigation of possible Syrian involvement in the [[Assassination of Rafic Hariri|assassination]] of former Lebanese prime minister [[Rafic Hariri|Rafik Hariri]]. Along with President Bashar al-Assad, Sharaa was interviewed in April 2006 during the course of a UN investigation into the death in February 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He finally did leave his post as foreign minister on 11 February 2006, when he became vice president of Syria in charge of foreign affairs.<ref name=Kechichian/> This position had been vacant for a year since the departure of [[Abdul Halim Khaddam]]. Some saw his appointment as vice president as a demotion, since he was expected to have less of a public role in Syrian politics and to lose contact with many diplomats and world leaders. The vice president in Syria is generally a ceremonial role. However, others believed that Sharaa would now have a greater role in decision-making, since he would be in Syria more often. In the event, Sharaa engaged in high-profile foreign travel as vice president, indicating that his role is envisaged as an active one on the international scene. He will also become the acting president of Syria if President Assad resigns or dies while Sharaa is still vice president.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/18/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html|title=Rebels say Syrian vice president defects, regime denies claim|publisher=CNN|date=18 August 2012|access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref>
Sharaa met with [[Pope Benedict XVI]] in September 2007 to discuss the plight of Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria, the Mideast peace processes, and the role and status of the Church in Syria. After 2011, Sharaa was the chairman of the "national dialogue" committee in Syria.<ref name=cg11>{{cite web|title=Popular Protest in North Africa and the Middle East (VII): The Syrian Regime's Slow-Motion Suicide|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/109%20Popular%20Protest%20in%20North%20Africa%20and%20the%20Middle%20East%20VII%20--%20The%20Syrian%20Regimes%20Slow-motion%20Suicide.pdf|publisher=Crisis Group|access-date=21 July 2012|format=Report (No: 109)|date=13 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725095930/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/109%20Popular%20Protest%20in%20North%20Africa%20and%20the%20Middle%20East%20VII%20--%20The%20Syrian%20Regimes%20Slow-motion%20Suicide.pdf|archive-date=25 July 2011}}</ref> In 2000 Sharaa was also appointed to the Ba'ath party's leadership and his term ended in July 2013.<ref name=alarab9july>{{cite news|title=Farouk al-Sharaa, Syrian leader who wanted compromise|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/profiles/2013/07/09/Farouk-al-Sharaa-Syrian-leader-who-wanted-compromise-.html|access-date=29 July 2013|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=9 July 2013|agency=AFP|location=Beirut}}</ref> On 19 July 2014, his term in the Vice President office ended.<ref name="SyVp1"/> After that, he disappeared from sight for a long period, whether politically or on a personal level, with the emergence of rumors of his defection, only to return and appear in October 2018 with the Syrian poet residing in [[Tunisia]] Hadi Daniel.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}
==Syrian civil war (2011–2024)== After the outbreak of the [[Syrian revolution]] in 2011, Sharaa was seen as a possible replacement for Assad during a transitional period. UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria [[Kofi Annan]]'s transition plan included Sharaa as a transitional president until elections were held.<ref name=ttofi1112 />
Sharaa's absence from a July 2012 meeting between Bashar al-Assad and Annan led to reports he was under house arrest or had fled to Jordan.<ref name=ttofi1112>{{cite news|title=Syrian vice president's absence raises questions of his whereabouts|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrias-deputy-president-vanished/|access-date=21 July 2012|newspaper=[[The Times of Israel]]|date=11 July 2012}}</ref><ref name=faroukdefect>{{cite news|title=Rebel spokesman: Syrian vice president defects; regime doesn't confirm| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/18/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html|work=CNN|date=18 August 2012|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref> However, Sharaa represented Bashar al-Assad at the funerals of three senior officials [[18 July 2012 Damascus bombing|assassinated on 18 July 2012]] in Damascus.<ref name=ctreu>{{cite news|title=Funeral held for Syria officials killed in bombing|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-syria-crisisfuneral-update-2-tvl6e8ikfg9-20120720,0,6973157.story|access-date=21 July 2012|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=20 July 2012|agency=Reuters|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171009220703/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-20/business/sns-rt-syria-crisisfuneral-update-2-tvl6e8ikfg9-20120720_1_minister-daoud-rajha-dominic-evans-bomb-attack|archive-date=9 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== After the fall of the Assad regime == Following the [[fall of the Assad regime]] in December 2024 and the establishment of the [[Syrian caretaker government|Syrian transitional government]] under former [[Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham]] leader [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]], Farouk accepted an invitation from al-Sharaa to attend a forthcoming national dialogue conference in Damascus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sh |date=2024-12-23 |title=Farouk al-Sharaa Returns to the Forefront of Syrian Politics After He Was Sidelined at the Start of the Revolution - The Syrian Observer |url=https://syrianobserver.com/syrian-actors/farouk-al-sharaa-returns-to-the-forefront-of-syrian-politics-after-he-was-sidelined-at-the-start-of-the-revolution.html |access-date=2024-12-26 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria: HTS-leader may invite ex-vice president Farouk al-Sharaa to National Dialogue Conference |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/syria-hts-leader-may-ask-ex-vice-president-national-dialogue |date=23 December 2024 |access-date=10 May 2025 |last=Ali |first=Adnan |website=[[The New Arab]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241223181938/https://www.newarab.com/news/syria-hts-leader-may-ask-ex-vice-president-national-dialogue |archive-date=23 December 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, he ultimately did not appear among those who took part in the [[Syrian National Dialogue Conference]] in February 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=هل تم تعيين فاروق الشرع مستشاراً للرئيس السوري؟ "عربي بوست" يكشف مصدر "الخبر" وحقيقته |url=https://arabicpost.net/تقارير-خاصة/2025/03/04/هل-تم-تعيين-فاروق-الشرع-مستشاراً-للرئي/ |date=4 March 2025 |access-date=10 May 2025 |website=Arabicpost.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250406140624/https://arabicpost.net/تقارير-خاصة/2025/03/04/هل-تم-تعيين-فاروق-الشرع-مستشاراً-للرئي/ |archive-date=6 April 2025 |language=ar |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Personal life== While some reports said that [[Hussein al-Sharaa]] and Farouk al-Sharaa are related,<ref>{{cite news |date=28 July 2016 |script-title=ar:مصادر: الجولاني قريب فاروق الشرع.. درس الفقه على يد عالم دمشقي في المزة |trans-title=Sources: Al-Julani is a relative of Farouk al-Sharaa. He studied jurisprudence at the hands of a Damascene scholar in Mezzeh |url=https://www.enabbaladi.net/94772/مصادر-الجولاني-قريب-فاروق-الشرع-درس-ا |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515010635/https://www.enabbaladi.net/94772/مصادر-الجولاني-قريب-فاروق-الشرع-درس-ا/ |archive-date=15 May 2024 |access-date=16 December 2024 |website=[[Enab Baladi]] |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=22 December 2024 |script-title=ar:قائد الإدارة الجديدة في سوريا التقى فاروق الشرع ودعاه لحوار وطني |trans-title=The leader of the new administration in Syria met Farouk al-Sharaa and invited him for a national dialogue |url=https://aawsat.com/العالم-العربي/المشرق-العربي/5094075-قائد-الإدارة-الجديدة-في-سوريا-التقى-فاروق-الشرع-ودعاه-لحوار |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241222134613/https://aawsat.com/العالم-العربي/المشرق-العربي/5094075-قائد-الإدارة-الجديدة-في-سوريا-التقى-فاروق-الشرع-ودعاه-لحوار |archive-date=22 December 2024 |access-date=22 December 2024 |website=[[Asharq Al-Awsat]] |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=صديق طفولة الجولاني يروي ما يعرفه عنه. |url=https://www.wattan.net/ar/news/182427.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214042939/https://www.wattan.net/ar/news/182427.html |archive-date=14 December 2024 |access-date=14 December 2024}}</ref> this fact is denied by MENA Research Center.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Al-Romoh |first=Ahmad |date=14 January 2024 |title=Jabhat Al-Nusra and Al-Golani, signs of formation |url=https://www.mena-researchcenter.org/jabhat-al-nusra-and-al-golani-signs-of-formation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223112626/https://www.mena-researchcenter.org/jabhat-al-nusra-and-al-golani-signs-of-formation/ |archive-date=23 February 2024 |access-date=10 May 2025 |website=MENA Research Center}}</ref> In August 2025, Hussein said on ''[[Al-Souriya TV|SyriaTV]]'' that the Al-Sharaa family in Daraa, to which former Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa belongs, has no direct kinship ties.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=والد الشرع يتحدث عن أصول عائلته.. تاريخ وامتداد في الأردن وفلسطين |url=https://nesan.net/?id=327503 |access-date=29 March 2026 |website=Nesan News |language=ar}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=33em}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{C-SPAN|3973}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[Abdul Halim Khaddam]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[List of foreign ministers of Syria|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|years=1984–2006}} {{s-aft|after=[[Walid Muallem]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Abdul Halim Khaddam]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[List of Vice Presidents of Syria|First Vice President of Syria]]|years=2006–2014}} {{s-aft|after=[[Najah al-Attar]]}} {{s-end}} {{Deputy Prime Ministers of Syria}} {{Ba'ath Party}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharaa, Farouk Al-}} [[Category:1938 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century Syrian politicians]] [[Category:21st-century Syrian politicians]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of London]] [[Category:Damascus University alumni]] [[Category:Ambassadors of Syria to Italy]] [[Category:Deputy prime ministers of Syria]] [[Category:Foreign ministers of Syria]] [[Category:Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region]] [[Category:Ministers of information of Syria]] [[Category:Ministers of justice of Syria]] [[Category:Syrian Sunni Muslims]] [[Category:Vice presidents of Syria]] [[Category:People from Daraa]]