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''Main article: [[Politics of Syria]]''
While nominally a democratic republic, Syria has been led by a Stalinist military dictatorship regime since a [[1963]] [[coup]] by the [[Baath Party]]. This party holds a two-thirds majority in the Syrian parliament (which has 250 seats), while the remainder is occupied by independent representatives. The country has been under a [[state of emergency]] laws since 1963. Syria has occupied most of the neighbouring Lebanese Republic since 1975.
The head of state is president [[Bashar al-Assad]], the son of president [[Hafez al-Assad]], who led the country from 1971 until his death in 2000. The president appoints a council of ministers and a prime minister, who together form the executive branch of the Syrian government.
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