The new Syrian administration has appointed Brigadier General Ali Kaddah as the minister of interior in the new government and Mohammad Abdul Rahman, the former head of the Syrian Interim Government, as the governor of Idlib.
Ali Kaddah, born in 1973 in the village of Harbnoush in northern rural Idlib, completed his education in Idlib, earning a degree in military engineering in 1997 and another in electrical engineering in 2003 from Aleppo University. He participated in a study programme in China.
Kaddah was imprisoned for seven months by the Assad regime and later became active in the educational field in areas outside regime control. He worked with local councils and the Free Police and served in Idlib. Kaddah held the position of deputy minister of interior for administrative and public relations in the second cabinet of the “Salvation Government” before becoming its head between 2019 and 2024. The Salvation Government governed Idlib before the fall of the Assad regime. Kaddah replaces Mohammed Abdulrahman as minister of interior, who has now been appointed as governor of Idlib.
Abdulrahman was born in 1985 in the town of Muhambal in Idlib. A graduate of the Military Academy in Homs, he defected from the Syrian regime’s army in 2012 to join the revolutionary factions. In 2015, he led the management of the “Army of Conquest” in the Muhambal area and its surroundings. Between 2017 and 2018, Abdulrahman oversaw operations in Idlib and border regions, managing key areas such as Muhambal, its surroundings and eastern Jisr al-Shughour, while also working in public relations and follow-up roles.
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