Defined as a shrewd and ambitious man, the leader of the Arab country has combined a firm hand with openness since bringing down the Assad regime

Despite his Islamist background, al-Sharaa has shown more pragmatic than ideological since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday became the first American president to meet with his Syrian counterpart in a quarter of a century, holding informal talks with the country's transitional leader,