Hafez al-Assad

Hafez al-Assad
حافظ الأسد
Official portrait, 1987
President of Syria
In office 12 March 1971 – 10 June 2000
Prime Minister	See list Himself Abdul Rahman Khleifawi Mahmoud al-Ayyubi Abdul Rahman Khleifawi Muhammad Ali al-Halabi Abdul Rauf al-Kasm Mahmoud Al-Zoubi Muhammad Mustafa Mero
Vice President	See list Mahmoud al-Ayyubi (1971–1976) Rifaat al-Assad (1984–1998) Abdul Halim Khaddam (1984–2000) Zuhair Masharqa (1984–2000)
Preceded by	Nureddin al-Atassi Ahmad al-Khatib (acting)
Succeeded by	Abdul Halim Khaddam (acting) Bashar al-Assad
Prime Minister of Syria
In office 21 November 1970 – 3 April 1971
President	Ahmad al-Khatib (acting) Himself
Preceded by	Nureddin al-Atassi
Succeeded by	Abdul Rahman Khleifawi
Secretary General of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
In office 12 September 1971 – 10 June 2000
Deputy	Abdullah al-Ahmar
Preceded by	Nureddin al-Atassi
Succeeded by	Bashar al-Assad
Regional Secretary of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch
In office 18 November 1970 – 10 June 2000
Deputy	Mohamad Jaber Bajbouj Zuhair Masharqa Sulayman Qaddah
Preceded by	Nureddin al-Atassi
Succeeded by	Bashar al-Assad
Minister of Defense
In office 23 February 1966 – 22 March 1972
President	Nureddin al-Atassi Ahmad al-Khatib Himself
Prime Minister	Yusuf Zuaiyin Nureddin al-Atassi Himself Abdul Rahman Kleifawi
Preceded by	Muhammad Umran
Succeeded by	Mustafa Tlass
Member of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch
In office 27 March 1966 – 10 June 2000
In office 5 September 1963 – 4 April 1965
Personal details
Born	(1930-10-06)6 October 1930 Qardaha, Alawite State, French Syria
Died	10 June 2000(2000-06-10) (aged 69) Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Political party	Arab Socialist Ba'ath
Other political affiliations	Arab Ba'ath (1946–1947) Ba'ath (1947–1966)
Spouse	Anisa Makhlouf ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	Bushra Bassel Bashar Majd Maher
Parents	Ali al-Assad (father) Na'sa Shalish (mother)
Relatives	al-Assad family
Alma mater	Homs Military Academy
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Syria
Branch/service	Syrian Arab Air Force Syrian Arab Armed Forces
Years of service	1952–2000
Rank	Colonel General
Commands	Syrian Arab Air Force Syrian Arab Armed Forces
Battles/wars	Six-Day War War of Attrition Black September Yom Kippur War

Hafez al-Assad^[a] (6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian politician, military officer and dictator^[1] who was the president of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. He was previously the 55th prime minister from 1970 to 1971 as well as the regional secretary of the regional command of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and secretary general of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party from 1970 to 2000. Hafez al-Assad was a key participant in the 1963 Syrian coup d'état, which brought the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party to power in the country, a power that lasted until the fall of the regime in 2024, then led by his son Bashar.

After the 1963 coup, the new leadership appointed Assad as the commander of the Syrian Air Force. In February 1966 Assad participated in a second coup, which toppled the traditional leaders of the Ba'ath Party. Assad was appointed defence minister by the new government. Four years later Assad initiated a third coup, which ousted Salah Jadid, and appointed himself as leader of Syria. Assad imposed various changes to the Ba'athist foreign policy after seizing power, such as abandoning Salah Jadid's policy of exporting "socialist revolution" and strengthening Syria's foreign relations with countries that his predecessor had deemed "reactionary". Assad sided with the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War in return for support against Israel and, whilst he had forsaken the pan-Arab concept of unifying the Arab world into one Arab nation, he sought to paint Syria as the defender of the Palestinians against Israel.

When he came to power, he organised the state along sectarian lines (Sunnis and non-Alawites became figureheads of political institutions whilst the Alawites took control of the military, intelligence, bureaucracy and security apparatuses). While Syria remained a one-party system, Ba'athist decision-making authority that had previously been collegial was reduced in favour of empowering the president. To maintain this system, a cult of personality centred on Assad and his family was created by the president and the Ba'ath party.

The Assad family’s personality cult was integrated with the Ba’athist doctrine to shape the state's official ideology. Assad ordered an intervention in Lebanon in 1976, which resulted in the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. During his rule, his regime crushed an Islamist uprising led by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood rebels through a series of crackdowns culminating in the Hama massacre, which led to two thirds of the city of Hama being destroyed. His regime was accused of numerous human rights violations, including opening prison death camps such as Sednaya prison, which was nicknamed the “Human Slaughterhouse”.

After consolidating his personal authority over the Syrian government Assad began looking for a successor. His first choice was his brother Rifaat, but Rifaat attempted to seize power in 1983–1984 when Hafez's health was in doubt. Rifaat was subsequently exiled when Hafez's health recovered. Assad's next choice of successor was his eldest son, Bassel. However, Bassel died in a highspeed car crash in 1994, and Assad turned to his third choice—his younger son Bashar, who at that time was a medical student in the UK, with no political experience. The move to appoint a member of his own family as his successor was met with criticism in some quarters of the Syrian ruling class, but Assad persisted with his plan and demoted officials who opposed this succession. Assad died in June 2000 and Bashar succeeded him as president, serving until he was overthrown in December 2024.

This article is part of a series about Hafez al-Assad
Personal Early life Family Death and state funeral mausoleum Assadism Cult of personality Prime Minister of Syria Government President of Syria Presidency International trips Corrective Movement Islamist uprising 1982 Hama massacre Yom Kippur War Saddamist conflict Occupation of Lebanon Attempted assassination Elections 1971 1978 1985 1991 1999
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