History Synopsis

The government in Syria has changed a lot in the past. Syria gained independence from the League of Nations mandate under French administration on April 17, 1946. The country has been a republic since the March of 1963. The Alawite-controlled pan-Arab nationalist Baath (Renaissance) party took control in 1963. In 1966 Salah Jadid lead an internal coup against the civilian Baath leadership, overthrowing Amin al-Hafez. In 1967 Israeli forces seize the Golan Heights from Syria and destroy much of Syria's air force in the Six Day War with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Hafez al-Assad overthrew the president, Salah Jadid, and became president himself, until his son, Bashar al-Assad came into power.