Bashar al-Assad

Dr Bashar al-Assad (Arabic: بشار الأسد, Baššār al-Asad) (born 11 September, 1965) is the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Regional Secretary of the Baath Party, and the son of former President Hafez al-Assad.

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Early life

Bashar al-Assad was born in Damascus, Syria on 11 September 1965. Initially Bashar had few political aspirations. Hafez al-Assad had been grooming Bashar's older brother, Basil al-Assad, to be the future president. However, Basil's death in an automobile accident in 1994 suddenly made Bashar his father's new heir apparent. When the elder Assad died in 2000, Bashar was elected President unopposed with what the regime claimed to be a massive popular support, after Syria's Majlis Al Shaa'b (Parliament) swiftly voted to lower the minimum age for candidates from 40 to 34 (Assad's age when he was elected).

Bashar entered the military academy at Homs, north of Damascus, following the death of Basil, and was propelled through the ranks to become a colonel in January 1999. During his military career the troops under his command often referred to him as the Guardian Hunter. This likely stemmed from a regional Islamic legend similar to the Greek and Roman legend of Orion, the Hunter.

Presidency

The Baath Party remains in control of the parliament, and is constitutionally the "leading party" of the state. Bashar al-Assad, however, was not strongly involved previously in the running of the party. Until he became President, Bashar's only formal political role was as the head of the Syrian Computer Society, which was mainly in charge of introducing the Internet to Syria in 2001.

Immediately after he took office, a reform movement made cautious advances during the so-called Damascus Spring, and Assad seemed to accept this, as he shut down the Mezze prison and released hundreds of political prisoners. The Damascus Spring however ground to an abrupt halt as security crackdowns commenced again within a year, and although Bashar rules with a softer touch than his father, political freedoms are still extremely curtailed. Bashar resembles his father in every sense but is more subtly surgical in removing opposition.

Economic liberalization has also been limited, with industry still heavily state-controlled, and corruption rife throughout the state apparatus. Mild economic sanctions (the Syria Accountability Act) applied by the United States further complicate the situation. Of major importance are the negotiations for a free trade Association Agreement with the European Union, but progress is slow.

Foreign relations

The United States, European Union, the March 14 Alliance, Israel, and France accuse Assad of logistically supporting militant groups aimed at Israel and any opposing member to his regime. These include Hezbollah, Fatah al-Islam, and Islamic Jihad. [[1]]

  Assad opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, despite a long-standing animosity between the Syrian and Iraqi regimes, a decision that reflected the will of the majority of his people in his country. Assad used Syria's seat in one of rotating positions on the United Nations Security Council to try and prevent the [[2]] invasion of Iraq. The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the accusation of Syrian involvement, and support for anti-Israeli groups, helped precipitate a crisis in relations with the United States.

Assad was criticized for Syria's presence in Lebanon (which ended in 2005), and the US put Syria under sanctions partly because of this. He is reported to have played a key role in the accession of the pro-Syrian General Emile Lahoud to the Lebanese presidency in 1998, a position Lahoud retains in spite of low popularity.

In the Arab world, Bashar has mended relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization, and attempted to build good relations with more conservative Arab states, while generally standing by Syria's Arab nationalist agenda.

2005 Lebanon crisis

  The 2005 Lebanon crises began with the death of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005, which has been blamed on Syria in the media. Assad has questioned the basis of such criticism. The main basis of the accusation is that the assassination removed an anti-Syrian political figure in an attempt to maintain influence. However, Assad argued that Syria's previously gradual withdrawal troops from Lebanon beginning in 2000, was precipitated as a result of the event.^[1] Syria remains influential in Lebanon, however, and economic activity is strongly interdependent.

Assad has repeatedly condemned the Hariri assassination. He strongly denies any Syrian involvement and has promised to extradite or punish anyone found guilty of participating in the conspiracy to kill Hariri.^{[citation needed]} Assad has refused to be questioned himself or for other high-ranking Syrian officials to be questioned by the special UN prosecutor in connection to Hariri's murder. In summation, the Hariri affair has proved the most pressing crisis for the Syrian government in decades, possibly since Hafez al-Assad seized power.

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

In a speech about the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, on August 15, 2006, Bashar al-Assad said that Israel had suffered a defeat in that war and that Hezbollah had "hoisted the banner of victory" and hailed its actions as a "successful resistance" - a view incidentally that was largely accepted by media and regional analysts.[[3]] He called Israel an "enemy," with whom no peace could be achieved as long as they and their allies (especially the U.S.) support the practice of preemptive war - a doctrine that is tantamount to an act of aggression and illegal under international law.[[4]]

Personal life

  Standing about 189 cm (6 ft 2 in), Assad has a distinct physical build. He speaks English from an intermediate to an advanced level and also speaks French, having studied at the Franco-Arab al-Hurriyah school in Damascus, before going on to medical school at the University of Damascus Faculty of Medicine. He completed his ophthalmology residency training in the Military Hospital of Latakia and subsequently went on to get subspecialty training in ophthalmology at the Western Eye Hospital in London. ^[2] He could not finish his formal training due to the unexpected death of his brother. He is married to Asma (Emma) Assad, nee Akhras^[3], a Syrian Sunni Muslim from Acton (west London) whom he met in the United Kingdom, where she was born and raised. ^[4]

The Assad family are members of the minority Alawite sect, and members of that group have been prominent in the governmental hierarchy and army since 1963 when the Baath Party first came to power. Their origins are to be found in the Latakia region of north-west Syria. Bashar's family is originally from Qardaha, just east of Latakia.

Family

 Family connections are presently an important part of Syrian politics. Several close family members of Hafez al-Assad have held positions within the government since his rise to power, most notably of course Bashar himself. Most of the al-Assad and Makhlouf families have also grown tremendously wealthy, and parts of that fortune have reached their Alawite tribe in Qardaha and its surroundings. The following is a list of some of Bashar's most prominent relatives:

• Hafez al-Assad, father. Former president. Died in 2000.
• Rifaat al-Assad, uncle. Formerly a powerful security chief; now in exile in France after attempting a coup d'êtat in 1984
• Jamil al-Assad, uncle. Parliamentarian, commander of a minor militia.
• Anisah Makhlouf, mother.
• Basil al-Assad, brother. Original candidate for succession. Died in an automobile accident in 1994.
• Majd al-Assad, brother. Electrical engineer; widely reported to have mental problems.
• Lt. Col. Maher al-Assad, brother. Head of Presidential Guard.
• Dr. Bushra al-Assad, sister. Pharmacist. Said to be a strong influence on both Hafez and Bashar, sometimes called the "brain" of Syrian politics. Married to Gen. Assef Shawqat.
• General Adnan Makhlouf, cousin of Anisah. Commands the Republican Guard.
• Adnan al-Assad, cousin of Hafez. Leader of "Struggle companies" militia in Damascus.
• Muhammad al-Assad, cousin of Hafez. Another leader of the "Struggle companies".
• General Assef Shawqat, brother-in-law. Husband of Bushra. Present head of military intelligence, close associate of Bashar.

See also

• List of state leaders
• Alawites

Further reading

• Bashar Al-Assad (Major World Leaders) by Susan Muaddi Darraj, (June 2005, Chelsea House Publications) ISBN 0-7910-8262-8 for young adults
• Syria Under Bashar Al-Asad: Modernisation and the Limits of Change by Volker Perthes, (2004, Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-856750-2 (Adelphi Papers #366)
• Bashar's First Year: From Ophthalmology to a National Vision (Research Memorandum) by Yossi Baidatz, (2001, Washington Institute for Near East Policy) ISBN B0006RVLNM
• Syria: Revolution From Above by Raymond Hinnebusch (Routledge; 1st edition, August 2002) ISBN 0-415-28568-2

References