By winning the first round of the presidential elections of the Syrian National Coalition which took place early Thursday, Hadi al-Bahra becomes the third elected president of the Coalition, after Muaz Ahmad al-Khatib and Ahmed Jarba.
Bahra joined the Coalition as part of the organization's expansion process which took place in May 2013, when he was elected a member in the Political Commission of the Coalition and its Secretary.
Bahra participated in the Geneva II Conference, held on 22 January, 2014, and was the chief negotiator within a Syrian opposition delegation in the two rounds of negotiations.
Bahra's win comes at a time of great suffering for the Syrian revolution, and as the military situation on the ground witnesses a decline in forces. It also comes as the Coalition suffers from deep disagreements thathave reached the extent of threatening to deconstruct the whole body.
The new president has a chance to heal the Coalition, especially since he was elected under a consensus between the two major blocs; that of Jarba and that of Mustafa Sabbagh, in addition to the support of other blocs. Bahra also enjoys the trust and support of different parties, both inside Syria and the Arab, regional and international parties.
Bahra will perhaps enjoy greater success if he works on the formation of a national resistance army and secures the necessary support for it.
Bahra was born in Damascus in 1959. He received a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wichita in the United States. Bahra became the executive director of the Irfan and Baghdo hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the period between 1983-1987, and then he became the executive director of Horizon for Trade Development during the period 1987 and 2003, then the general director of Horizon Global Trade between 2004 and 2005. He was executive director of Techno Media from 2005 until the present.
Bahra is fluent in English and he has extensive experience in communications systems and display technology, and everything related to media production, the organization of conferences, display systems and translation.
Bahra has dedicated his experience in communications to the service of the Syrian revolution since its outbreak, where he contributed to the establishment of support groups, and coordinated communications between activists inside Syria and the media, as well as contributing to the media, relief and political activities of the revolution.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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