Farouk al-Sharaa vs Tomislav Nikolic

Farouk al-Sharaa was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria in 1984, serving under President Hafez al-Assad. He held this position for over 22 years, becoming a key architect of Syrian foreign policy. He was involved in negotiations with Israel, Lebanon, and other regional actors, and was known for his pragmatic approach.

In 2006, al-Sharaa was appointed Vice President of Syria by President Bashar al-Assad, a position he held until 2014. As Vice President, he was involved in high-level decision-making, though his influence waned during the Syrian Civil War. He was seen as a potential reformist within the regime.

In 2014, al-Sharaa reportedly defected from the Assad regime, though he did not publicly announce it. He was removed from his position as Vice President and placed under house arrest. His defection was seen as a significant blow to the regime, though he remained in Syria and did not join the opposition.

Nikolic split from the Serbian Radical Party and established the Serbian Progressive Party, positioning it as a pro-European Union, center-right alternative. This reshaped Serbian politics and led to his eventual presidency.

After Boris Tadic resigned to call early elections, Nikolic served as acting president for several months, exercising presidential powers during a period of political transition following Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Nikolic won the Serbian presidential election against incumbent Boris Tadic, marking a shift in power from the Democratic Party to the Serbian Progressive Party, which he had founded after leaving the Radical Party.