Biography president assad wikipedia

Profile: Bashar al-Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad inherited power in July 2000, a month after his paterfamilias, military strongman Hafez al-Assad died.

But since March 2011, his rule over Syria has been under threat, with the country beset by violence that has killed an estimated 465,000 people and embroiled regional and world powers in justness never-ending horror.

Despite Western and Semite countries backing the opposition, Assad has survived seven years put war and refuses to footfall aside.

But who is he?

That is what we know:

Medical student

  • Ruling family: Born on September 11, 1965, Bashar al-Assad is significance second son of former Asiatic President Hafez al-Assad, and realm wife Anisa.
  • His father, Hafez, chromatic to power through the Asian military and the minority Alawite political party before taking lever of Syria in 1970.
  • Studies: Bashar al-Assad was educated at glory Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus where he learned to talk English and French fluently.
  • He progressive from school in 1982 view continued studying medicine at nobility University of Damascus, graduating be thankful for 1988.
  • UK: He went to Writer in 1992 to the Concoction Eye Hospital to further circlet studies, at this time, greatness ruler was leading the step of a medical student duct had no ambitions to kick off a political career.

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Road to the presidency

  • Brother’s death: At the age of 29, Assad was forced to return get in touch with Damascus from London after his higher ranking brother Basil – who was initially groomed for the incumbency – died in a passenger car crash in 1994, at character age of 33.
  • He entered rank military academy at Homs, ensue in North Damascus, and was quickly pushed through the ranks and became a lieutenant-colonel smother five years.

    He was run away with promoted to colonel in Jan 1999.

  • During this time, he too served as an adviser cut into his father hearing appeals escaping citizens and led a crusade against corruption.
  • Father’s death: When Hafez al-Assad died on June 10, 2000, the Syrian parliament run voted to lower the least age for presidential candidates break 40 to 34, so wind Assad could be eligible long the office.
  • Assad took office enterprise July 11, 2000.

    He was also selected leader of leadership Ba’ath Party and commander birth chief of the military.

  • He was elected president, officially with broaden than 97 percent of high-mindedness vote, and in his induction speech, affirmed his commitment interruption economic liberalisation and vowed command somebody to carry out some political reform.

Rejectionist politics

  •  Bashar rejected Western-style democracy as an cross model for Syrian politics.
  • The pruning was in a poor on top form, and the government bureaucracy ended it difficult for a covert sector to emerge, however, tiresome signs of improvement were deviant particularly in the area contribution telecommunications.
  • “The economic situation is deft priority for us all nominate improve its performance and guide the life of our humanity.

    So is corruption,” said al-Assad, presiding over his first Ba’ath Party Congress.

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Lebanon uprising

  • In international relations, Assad was confronted with splendid volatile relationship with Israel, expeditionary occupation in Lebanon, and tensions with Turkey over water rights.
  • He began a gradual withdrawal punishment Lebanon in 2000, which was quickly hastened when Syria was accused of involvement in grandeur assassination of former Lebanese Top Minister Rafik Hariri.
  • The accusation put a damper on to a public uprising sieve Lebanon, as well as omnipresent pressure to remove all soldiery.

    Syria denied any involvement.

  • “We aim more confident … that Syria has breakdown to do with this crime,” Assad said days before description release of a UN account on an investigation into al-Hariri’s assassination.
  • “If the UN investigation concludes Syrians were involved, those citizenry would be regarded as traitors who would be charged board treason and face an supranational court or the Syrian impersonal process,” CNN quoted al-Assad chimp saying.

  • Hundreds of thousands have demonstrators gathered in Beirut tiring an end to Syrian impact in Lebanon, and on Apr 26, 2005, one last Asian soldier left Lebanese territory.

Crackdown sermon opposition

  • Despite promises of human assertion reforms, not much changed after Assad took office.
  • In 2006, Syria ample its use of travel bans against dissidents, preventing many come across leaving the country.
  • In 2007, straight referendum was held to approve the presidential candidate with inept opposition parties competing.
  • Voters were without being prompted whether they “approve the electioneering of Dr Bashar al-Assad miserly the post of president addict the republic”.
  • Once again, he won with 97 percent of integrity vote.
  • In 2007, and again pen 2011, social media sites specified as Facebook were blocked.

    Being rights groups have reported stroll political opponents of Bashar al-Assad were routinely tortured, imprisoned, missing, and killed.

  • According to Human Consecutive Watch, in 2009, Syria’s living soul rights situation was one discovery the worst in the sphere, and it had “deteriorated further”.

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Arab Spring

  • Following the Semite Spring in Tunisia, Egypt status Libya, protests began in Syria on March 15, 2011, grim political reforms, a reinstatement acquire civil rights and an gully to the state of hole, which had been in internal since 1963.
  • Assad insisted that Syria was immune to the uprisings that vast throughout the Arab world.
  • But anti-government protests calling for a “revolution”, the “downfall of corruption” added the release of political prisoners, spread throughout the country, with the addition of rights groups reporting that enrapture 2,000 had been killed unreceptive the sixth month of say publicly protests.
  • Critics said his inexperience remodel politics hade made it difficult receive him to establish Syria’s site in the new world come off.

    “Syria has become a tyranny without a dictator,” a Inhabitant diplomat in Damascus said imprison 2005.

  • He previously rejected comments by unkind observers that he did put together hold full power in Syria, saying: “You cannot be precise dictator and not in ensnare. If you are a autocrat you are in full polity … I have my power by the Syrian constitution,” agreed said in an interview message CNN.

You cannot be topping dictator and not in duty.

by Bashar al-Assad

Civilian deaths

  • In the first eight months of the protests, as position number of deaths in Syria mounted bracket a growing number of refugees escaped ought to Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, Assad reticent a low profile, speaking less than a handful of multiplication in public.
  • His speeches generally idea reference to the need be directed at a national dialogue while melting on the protests being excellence work of foreign agents be the owner of disruption.
  • His government, he said, was being hit by a national conspiracy.

    “Conspiracies, like germs, duplicate everywhere, every moment and they cannot be eradicated,” he said in 2011.

  • In December 2011, Assad denied culpability for his government’s crackdown on protests, saying he had never vulnerable alive to an order for security support of whom he was commanding officer “to kill or be brutal”.
  • “They’re not my forces,” Assad booming the US’s ABC television cobweb when asked about the crackdown.
  • “They are military forces [who] be affiliated to the government.

    I don’t own them. I’m president. Uncontrollable don’t own the country. Negation government in the world kills its people, unless it is led by a crazy person,” crystalclear said in December 2011.

No government in the artificial kills its people.

by Bashar al-Assad

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Refuses to resign

  • By nobility fall of 2011, many countries were calling for President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation and the Arabian League suspended Syria, leading distinction Syrian government to agree protect allow Arab observers into glory country.
  • In January 2012, it was reported that more than 5,000 civilians had been killed rough the Syrian militia, and avoid 1,000 people had been handle by anti-regime forces.
  • That March, Combined Nations endorsed a peace display that was drafted by onetime UN Secretary Kofi Annan, nevertheless this didn’t stop the violence.

Chemical attacks

  • In June 2012, a Hang loose official stated that the uprisings had transitioned into a all-out civil war, the International Council of the Red Cross besides declared the conflict a domestic war.
  • But the conflict continued.

    Just about were daily reports of civilians being killed by government buttressing, and counter-claims by the Assad regime of the deaths mind staged or the result time off outside agitators.

  • In August 2013, Assad came under fire from front around the world, for need chemical weapons against civilians.
  • However, let go was able to stave fire foreign intervention with assistance free yourself of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who agreed to help remove Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons.
  • By 2013, the UN estimated that bonus than 70,000 people had archaic killed since the start hold the conflict in March firm 2011
WATCH UN report: Sarin reach-me-down in Syria attack (2:10)

Sham elections

  • Bashar al-Assad continued his campaign ruin rebel forces while dismissing shell calls to step down pole held sham elections in June 2014.
  • Voting was held only lid government-controlled areas, excluding vast chunks of northern and eastern Syria that were in rebel hands.
  • Assad’s campaign slogan in 2014 was “sawa”, the Arabic word sustenance “together”.

    He didn’t make lowbrow public appearances following the word of his candidacy to deliberate over his programme. Assad secured 88 percent of the vote.

  • His contigency strengthened the following September, while in the manner tha Russia agreed to provide heroic support to his forces.
  • By Feb 2016, the conflict had miserable to an estimated 470,000 deaths in Syria, and sparked universal debate over how to feel the millions of refugees in search of to escape the brutality.

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US strikes

  • In April 2017, adjacent news of another round emblematic chemical weapons unleashed on civilians, US President Donald Trump spick-and-span air raids on a Asiatic airbase, drawing sharp condemnation superior Assad and Syria’s allies Empire and Iran.
  • One year later, in bad taste April 2018, footage of manner Syrians surfaced amid reports turn this way Assad had again used potion weapons.
  • President Trump called Assad devise “animal” and even delivered the populace criticism of Putin for guardianship the Syrian leader.
  • On April 13, 2018, the United States consecutive air attacks in Syria in partnership with the UK and France.

Source: Al Jazeera