Ali Keda
Ali Keda | |
|---|---|
علي كدة | |
| Secretary-General to the Cabinet | |
| Assumed office 29 March 2025 | |
| President | Ahmed al-Sharaa |
| Preceded by | Qais Khadr |
| Minister of Interior | |
| In office 19 January 2025 – 29 March 2025 | |
| President | Ahmed al-Sharaa[a] |
| Prime Minister | Mohammed al-Bashir |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Abdul Rahman |
| Succeeded by | Anas Khattab |
| Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government | |
| In office 18 November 2019 – 13 January 2024 | |
| President | Mustafa al-Mousa |
| Preceded by | Fawwaz Hilal |
| Succeeded by | Mohammed al-Bashir |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1973 (age 51–52) Harbanoush, Idlib, Syria |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (until 2025) |
| Alma mater | University of Aleppo |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ba'athist SyriaArmy of Conquest Sham Legion |
| Years of service | ?–March 2011; September 2011–2012 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Ali Abdulrahman Keda (Arabic: علي عبد الرحمن كدة; born 1973) is a Syrian politician and engineer who served as Minister of Interior in the Syrian caretaker government from 2024 to 2025.[1] He previously served as the fourth Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government from 2019 to 2024.
Early life
[edit]Keda was born in Harbanoush, a village in Idlib Governorate, in 1973. He obtained degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Aleppo and military engineering from a state military academy.[2] He then enlisted in the Syrian military, serving as a technician at al-Nayrab military airbase in Aleppo Governorate and being promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In March 2011, at the onset of the Syrian civil war, Keda defected from the military before rejoining six months later. He was arrested and again defected in 2012 after his release.[3]
Keda allegedly served as the deputy head of the Army of Conquest's security department. After its dissolution, he served as a security official with the Sham Legion before resigning. He then worked for the Free Police, but was dismissed after joining the Salvation Government.[3]
Political career
[edit]Keda initially worked with local councils.[3] Under the administration of Fawwaz Hilal formed in November 2018, Keda served as Deputy Minister of the Interior for Administrative Affairs and Public Relations.[4] Following the resignation of Hilal's cabinet at the completion of its one-year term,[5] Keda was given thirty days to present a new government to the General Shura Council.[4] On 18 November 2019, Keda's government was approved by the General Shura Council and he was elected prime minister, winning 65% of the vote.[5] Shortly after his appointment, he pledged to tackle the surge in the number of internally displaced persons in Idlib.[6]
On 23 March 2020, Keda tasked Abdullah al-Shawi with chairing an emergency committee intended to coordinate the administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria. He was criticised for attending meetings without a face mask.[7]
In an interview with Le Temps, Keda appealed to the international community to deliver humanitarian assistance to Idlib in coordination with the Salvation Government. He also called on the European Union to "recognize the reality of the situation in Syria," stating that Bashar al-Assad's government was "terrorist."[8]
On 1 December 2020, Keda was re-elected as prime minister by the General Shura Council, winning 81% of the vote. The vote was criticized by opposition activists who compared his appointment with that of Syrian prime minister Hussein Arnous.[9]
Fall of the Assad regime and the Syrian transitional government
[edit]Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Ali Keda appeared together with Ahmed al-Sharaa in both meetings with both domestic and international delegations to the Syrian caretaker government.[10]
On 19 January 2025, Keda was appointed as Minister of Interior in the Syrian caretaker government.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "تعيينات جديدة.. علي كدة وزيراً للداخلية ومحمد عبد الرحمن محافظاً لإدلب". Syria TV (in Arabic). 19 January 2025. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ ""علي كده" ضابط منشق ومسؤول أمني.. رئيسا جديدا لحكومة الإنقاذ". SMART News Agency (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ a b c "Ali Keda, a dissident officer and security official, is now new head of Salvation Government". SMART News Agency. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ a b "من هو علي كده رئيس "حكومة الإنقاذ" الجديد". Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ a b Saeed, Abdirahim (13 December 2019). "BBC Monitoring – Analysis: Who's behind the 'Salvation Government' running northern Syria?". BBC Monitoring. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ al-Khateb, Khaled (29 December 2019). "Reshuffle of HTS-linked government fails to bring hope in Idlib". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ "The Jihadi-Backed Salvation Government and Covid-19 in Northwest Syria". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 15 May 2020. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ Bouvier, Edith (3 September 2020). "Idlib, capitale syrienne du désespoir". Le Temps (in French). ISSN 1423-3967. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "ديموقراطية تحرير الشام.. إعادة انتخاب "علي كدة" رئيساً للحكومة ومنافسيه مجهولين". Step News Agency (in Arabic). 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
- ^ "أعمدة الشرع ورجالات الظل.. من يدير منظومة القيادة في دمشق؟". Syria TV (in Arabic). 30 December 2024. Archived from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.