Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on 24 September 2025 made history by becoming the first Syrian leader in nearly six decades to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). His presence at the 80th UNGA session came less than a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled Syria for 50 years until his ouster in December 2024.

During his visit to New York, al-Sharaa met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and once again urged Washington to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria under the 2019 Caesar Act. These sanctions have been a major obstacle to Syria’s economy. A few months earlier, al-Sharaa had already caught global attention when he met former US President Donald Trump and called him a “young, tough guy.”

Who is Ahmed al-Sharaa

What makes al-Sharaa’s story even more striking is his past. Before becoming president, he was widely known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, a leader of the extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq. Born in Riyadh in 1982 to Syrian parents from the Golan Heights, he became active in jihadist movements during the early 2000s. In 2006, he was captured by American forces and spent five years in detention. After being released, he returned to Syria during the Arab Spring in 2011 and soon founded the al-Nusra Front, a group that played a key role in the Syrian civil war.

By 2016, however, he publicly broke ties with al-Qaeda and rebranded both himself and his organisation. The al-Nusra Front was renamed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and Jolani adopted the name Ahmed al-Sharaa. He said his new focus was on Syria’s future and rebuilding the country rather than global jihad.

In 2024, al-Sharaa emerged as a key figure in the downfall of Bashar al-Assad. Since then, he has positioned himself as the face of a “new Syria.” His address at the UN  was symbolic: he told the world, “This is Syria coming back to the international community after years of suffering and isolation.”

Whether Ahmed al-Sharaa can truly change Syria’s direction remains uncertain. But his rise, from former al-Qaeda leader to the man representing Syria at the UN, is one of the most remarkable political transformations in recent history.