The
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (also spelled
Ba'ath or
Baath, "resurrection" or "renaissance";
Hizb Al-Ba'ath Al-'Arabi Al-Ishtiraki), also referred to as the
pro-Syrian Ba'ath movement, is a
neo-Ba'athist political party, with branches across the
Arab world. The party emerged from a split in the
Ba'ath Party in February 1966. The party leads the government in
Syria. From 1970 until 2000, the party was led by the Syrian president
Hafez al-Assad. , leadership has been shared between his son
Bashar al-Assad (head of the Syrian regional organization) and
Abdullah al-Ahmar (head of the pan-Arab national organization).
The Syrian branch of the party is the largest organisation within the Syrian-led Ba'ath Party.