Sharaa, whose fighters led the offensive that toppled the Assad family dynasty in December, has said he will build an inclusive society in a country with a delicate sectarian and religious mix.

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa was born in October 1982 in Saudi Arabia, where he spent the first seven years of his life. In a rare photograph of him as a child, found in a dossier compiled by Assad’s intelligence services, Sharaa has the same unsmiling, enigmatic expression he is often seen wearing today.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a temporary constitution that will be in force for a five-year transitional period, three months after his forces led a lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s government.

The document enshrines separation of powers and guarantees women's rights, freedom of expression and media freedom.

Syria's interim President Ahmad Al Shara on Thursday signed the country's constitutional declaration, which will be enforced throughout a five-year transitional period. Mr Al Shara said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the start of "a new history for Syria,

Religious and ethnic minorities, as well as the US and Europe, are wary about freedom of expression protections