Ali Keda
{{short description|Syrian politician and engineer}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name =
| native_name = {{nobold|علي كدة}}
| native_name_lang = ar
| office = Secretary-General to the Cabinet
| president = Ahmed al-Sharaa
| term_start = 29 March 2025
| term_end =
| predecessor = Qais Khadr
| office1 = Minister of Interior
| president1 = Ahmed al-Sharaa{{efn|As de facto leader until 29 January 2025.}}
| primeminister1 = Mohammed al-Bashir
| predecessor1 = Mohammad Abdul Rahman
| sucessor1 =
| termstart1 = 19 January 2025
| term_end1 = 29 March 2025
| office2 = Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government
| order2 =
| predecessor2 = Fawwaz Hilal
| termstart2 = 18 November 2019
| president2 = Mustafa al-Mousa
| successor2 = Mohammed al-Bashir
| term_end2 = 13 January 2024
| birth_place = Harbanoush, Idlib, Syria
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1973}}
| alma_mater = University of Aleppo
| party = Independent
| otherparty = Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (until 2025)
| allegiance = {{flag|Ba'athist Syria}}
Army of Conquest
Sham Legion
| rank = Lieutenant colonel
| serviceyears = ?–March 2011; September 2011–2012
| successor1 = Anas Khattab
}}
Ali Abdulrahman Keda ({{langx|ar|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.{{cite web |url=https://www.syria.tv/تعيينات-جديدة-علي-كدة-وزيراً-للداخلية-ومحمد-عبد-الرحمن-محافظاً-لإدلب?amp |title=New Appointments: Ali Keda as Interior Minister and Mohammad Abdulrahman as Governor of Idlib |lang=ar |date=19 January 2025 |website=Syria TV |access-date=19 January 2025}} He previously served as the fourth Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government from 2019 to 2024.
Early life
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.{{Cite web|title="علي كده" ضابط منشق ومسؤول أمني.. رئيسا جديدا لحكومة الإنقاذ|url=https://smartnews-agency.com/ar/reports/2019-11-19-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%83%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B4%D9%82-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A4%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7-%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B0--263|access-date=2020-07-19|website=SMART News Agency|language=en|archive-date=2020-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719164016/https://smartnews-agency.com/ar/reports/2019-11-19-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%83%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B4%D9%82-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A4%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7-%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B0--263|url-status=dead}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Ali Keda, a dissident officer and security official, is now new head of Salvation Government|url=https://smartnews-agency.com/en/reports/2019-11-19-ali-keda-a-dissident-officer-and-security-official-is-now-new|access-date=2020-09-25|website=SMART News Agency|language=en|archive-date=2020-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719164033/https://smartnews-agency.com/en/reports/2019-11-19-ali-keda-a-dissident-officer-and-security-official-is-now-new|url-status=dead}}
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.
Political career
Keda initially worked with local councils. Under the administration of Fawwaz Hilal formed in November 2018, Keda served as Deputy Minister of the Interior for Administrative Affairs and Public Relations.{{Cite web|date=2019-11-18|title=من هو علي كده رئيس "حكومة الإنقاذ" الجديد|url=https://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/343297|access-date=2020-07-19|website=عنب بلدي|language=ar}} Following the resignation of Hilal's cabinet at the completion of its one-year term,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=BBC Monitoring – Analysis: Who's behind the 'Salvation Government' running northern Syria?|url=https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c201b6nn|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720034328/https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c201b6nn |archive-date=2020-07-20 |access-date=2020-07-19|website=monitoring.bbc.co.uk}} Keda was given thirty days to present a new government to the General Shura Council. 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. Shortly after his appointment, he pledged to tackle the surge in the number of internally displaced persons in Idlib.{{Cite web|last=al-Khateb|first=Khaled|date=2019-12-29|title=Reshuffle of HTS-linked government fails to bring hope in Idlib|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/12/syria-idlib-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-government-protests.html|access-date=2020-07-19|website=Al-Monitor}}
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.{{Cite web|title=The Jihadi-Backed Salvation Government and Covid-19 in Northwest Syria|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-jihadi-backed-salvation-government-and-covid-19-in-northwest-syria|access-date=2020-07-19|website=www.washingtoninstitute.org}}
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."{{Cite news|date=2020-09-03|title=Idlib, capitale syrienne du désespoir|language=fr|work=Le Temps|url=https://www.letemps.ch/monde/idlib-capitale-syrienne-desespoir|access-date=2020-09-25|issn=1423-3967}}
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.{{Cite web|title=ديموقراطية تحرير الشام.. إعادة انتخاب "علي كدة" رئيساً للحكومة ومنافسيه مجهولين|url=https://stepagency-sy.net/2020/12/01/%d8%a5%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%aa%d8%ae%d8%a7%d8%a8-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%8a-%d9%83%d8%af%d8%a9/|access-date=2020-12-09|website=وكالة ستيب الإخبارية|language=ar}}
= Fall of the Assad regime and the Syrian transitional government =
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.{{Cite web |date=30 December 2024 |title=أعمدة الشرع ورجالات الظل.. من يدير منظومة القيادة في دمشق؟ |url=https://www.syria.tv/%D8%A3%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%B9-%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B8%D9%84-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%82%D8%9F |website=Syria TV |language=ar}}
On 19 January 2025, Keda was appointed as Minister of Interior in the Syrian caretaker government.
References
=Notes=
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