Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region

The Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, officially the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, is the ruling organ of the Ba'ath Party organization in Syria. The term Regional Command (Arabic: Al-Qiyada Al-Qutriyya‎‎) stems from Ba'athist ideology, where region literally means an Arab state. According to the Syrian Constitution, the Regional Command has the power to nominate a candidate for president. While the constitution does not state that the Regional Secretary of the Regional Command is the President of Syria, the charter of the National Progressive Front (NPF), of which the Ba'ath Party is a member, states that the President and the Regional Secretary is the NPF President, but this is not stated in any legal document. The 1st Extraordinary Regional Congress held in 1964 decided that the Regional Secretary of the Regional Command would also be head of state. Amin al-Hafiz, the sitting Regional Secretary, became head of state and retained his post as Prime Minister.

At the 2nd Regional Congress in 1965, the Military Committee weakened the powers of the National Command by passing a resolution that the Regional Secretary of the Regional Command was ex officio head of state. The Regional Secretary was given the powers to appoint the Prime Minister, the cabinet, the commander-in-chief and the leading military commanders.(Arabic: lajna quamiyya‎‎). Before the 1970 Corrective Revolution that brought Hafez al-Assad to power, the local party leadership was elected by fellow Ba'ath Party members; when al-Assad came to power the Regional Command began to appoint all party officials. Under Bashar al-Assad this policy was reversed, and party members were again able to elect the local party leadership, but candidates had to be approved by the party leadership.

The Regional Command is officially responsible to the Regional Congress. The Regional Command is supposed to be subordinate to the National Command, and official media portray it as such to stress the government's commitment to Ba'athist ideology. Since Hafez al-Assad's rise to power, the National Command has been subordinate to the Regional Command. Before the schism between the Military Committee led by Salah Jadid and the Aflaqites, and the ensuing 1966 Syrian coup d'état, the National Command was the leading party organ. The Regional Command is today the post powerful institution in Syria.

The Regional Secretary chairs all the meetings of the Regional Command. If the Regional Secretary is absent, the Assistant Regional Secretary substitutes him. The Assistant Regional Secretary sets the agenda for the meeting with consultation with the Regional Secretary. Under Bashar al-Assad a degree of openness is permitted in Regional Command meetings. Members are allowed to discuss each sides of complex issues, and members can criticize certain policies and how they are implemented. However, if Bashar al-Assad supports a side, that side will prevail in the argument. In contrast to his father, Hafez, who consulted with the Regional Command and took their views into account before he made a decision, the Regional Command under Bashar al-Assad is increasingly becoming a rubber stamp body.