Ahmad Jarba, the new head of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces, is an influential tribal figure who has close links to Saudi
Arabia.
Mr Jarba, a Sunni Muslim, was born in 1969 in the north-eastern Syrian city
of Qamishli, in Hassakeh province. The province is home to Arabs and Kurds.
He is a member of the Shammar tribe, one of the most prominent tribes in
eastern Syria. The Shammar also has a presence in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Saudi ties
Mr Jarba was politically active in the 1990s and was imprisoned between 1996
and 1998 for opposing President Hafez al-Assad.
He was jailed again in March 2011, at the start of the current uprising, for
supporting pro-democracy protests. Mr Jarba left for neighbouring Lebanon that
August, after his release.
He has subsequently spent time in Saudi Arabia and is believed to maintain
close ties with the Gulf kingdom's leadership. Saudi Arabia is a leading source
of support for the Syrian opposition.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23229258