al-Sharaa is expected to speak to the General Assembly, according to state media. Thus, he will be the first Syrian leader to do so since 1967.
He was the leader of the Islamist rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which in December last year led the overthrow of the former president Bashar al-Assad. The overthrow came after nearly 14 years of civil war.
Since al-Sharaa, and HTS, have a jihadist origin, he is under sanctions from the UN and has a travel ban, which has required him to apply for an exemption for foreign travel.
Since al-Sharaa came to power, he has made a dramatic change, where he, among other things, has met with US President Donald Trump and France's counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
