The chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau (Arabic: رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة حماس, romanized: Ra’īs al-Maktab as-Siasi li-Ḥarakat Ḥamās), also known as the chairman of the Hamas Shura Council (Arabic: رئيس مجلس شورى لحركة حماس, romanized: Ra’īs Majlis Shūra li-Ḥarakat Ḥamās) from 1987 until 2004, is the overall and de facto leader of Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military organisation that is governing most of the Gaza Strip since 2007.

The position is currently vacant, following the killing of Yahya Sinwar by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on 16 October 2024 in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine.

However, the council that was handpicked by Sinwar in case of his death was formed and will lead Hamas until the next election that will take place in March 2025.

The council consists of Khaled Mashal, Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, Muhammad Ismail Darwish, and an unnamed senior member of Hamas.

Residing in Doha, Qatar, the chairman serves as a figurehead for Hamas during Palestinian elections and becomes the central leader in the resistance against Israeli occupation.

Additionally, he plays a crucial role in foreign relations, leading negotiations with Israeli officials regarding peace processes, fostering reconciliation with Fatah, and enhancing ties with other Middle Eastern countries.

On 31 July 2024, Khaled Mashal was selected as the acting chairman of Hamas Political Bureau until the new leader was elected.

[35][36][37] Hamas inherited a tripartite organization of social services, religious instruction, and military operations overseen by a Shura Council.

Following its leader Mashal's decision to demand that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait and defy Yasser Arafat's decision to support Saddam Hussein in the invasion, the Kuwaiti group of Palestinian exiles started to receive substantial money from the Gulf States.

The wide network of informants and the depth of Israeli intelligence surveillance pose challenges to communication between Hamas' military and political wings.

Field commanders were granted more discretionary authority over operations and the political direction of the militant wing was weakened following the assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.

It is modeled after the Quranic idea of shura, or popular assembly, which Hamas officials claim allows for democracy within an Islamic framework.

However, due to Hamas' backing of the Syrian rebel against Bashar al-Assad during the civil war, the office had to relocate to Qatar.

He will become the central figure for Hamas resistance against Israeli-occupied territories all over the world, contrasting to their opposite political party, Fatah which kind of moderate one.

The founder, Ahmed Yassin was killed in March 2004, while his successor, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi was assassinated 26 days later.

Ismail Haniyeh, the 4th de facto leader of Hamas, was assassinated in July 2024 shortly after attending the inauguration ceremony of the President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Yahya Sinwar, the latest de facto leader of Hamas, was killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF), alongside Mahmoud Hamdan, commander of the Tel Sultan Battalion and Hani Zaarab on 16 October 2024.