Syrian Regional Branch (Ba'ath Party)

The Syrian Regional Branch is the branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party operating in the Syrian Arab Republic, one of twenty member republics of the Arab Union. The Syrian Regional Branch has been the governing party of Syria since 1970; before that it was the Syrian chapter of the Nasserist party commonly known as the Arab Socialist Union from 1958 to 1970, during which time the Arab Union was governed as a unitary state as opposed to the federation it is today.

As the Ba'ath Party operates as a federalist party, every card-carrying member of the entire Ba'ath Party is simultaneously a member of one of its twenty regional branches, 17 of which form the republican governments of 17 respective republics. Prominent members of the Syrian Regional Branch include current President of the Arab Union Bashar al-Assad, as well as Minister of Transportation Imran Makhlouf and State Revenue Committee Chairman Faris Sahli.