Member State of the Arab League The First Salah al-Din al-Bitar Government ruled Syria from March to May 1963.

The Cabinet of Syria was led by then-Prime Minister Salah al-Din al-Bitar.

[1] This government was the 60th since Syria gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and the country's first Baathist government.

[2] It was formed on March 9 by decree of the NCRC one day after the triumph of the 1963 Syrian coup d'état and dissolved two months later.

[3] All vital ministries except the defense ministry— which was headed by independent Nasserite General Muhammad al-Sufi—were given to Ba'athists.