Assad family

The Assad family (Arabic: آل الأسد‎) has ruled Syria, since Hafez al-Assad became Syrian President in 1971 and established an authoritarian regime under the control of the Baath party. After his death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad succeeded him.^[1]

The Assads are originally from Qardaha, just east of Latakia in north-west Syria. They are members of the minority Alawite sect and belong to the Kalbiyya tribe.^[2] The family name Assad goes back to Ali Sulayman (1875-1963), who in 1927 changed his last name to it, possibly in connection with his social standing as a local mediator and his political activities. The name "Al Assad" means "the lion" in Arabic. All members of the extended Assad family stem from Ali Sulayman and his second wife Naissa, who came from a village in the Alawi mountains.^[3]

Family connections are presently an important part of Syrian politics. Several close family members of Hafez al-Assad have held positions in the government since his rise to power.^[4][5]

Contents 1 Hafez' family 2 Hafez' siblings 3 Anisa's siblings (Makhlouf family) 4 Hafez' cousins 5 Other relatives 6 References 7 External links

Hafez' family

• Hafez al-Assad (1930–2000). President of Syria 1971–2000.
  Anisa Makhlouf, wife of Hafez and former First Lady.
  • Bushra al-Assad, died as an infant before 1960.^[6]
  • Bushra al-Assad (born 1960) is a pharmacist and married to:
    Gen. Assef Shawqat (born 1950), deputy-chief of staff of the Syrian army and the former head of military intelligence.^[6]
  • Bassel al-Assad (1962-1994), was the original candidate for presidential succession, however, he died in a car accident.^[7]
  • Bashar al-Assad (born 1965), is the President of Syria since 2000. Before Basil's death he was an ophthalmologist. He is married to Asma al-Assad (born 1975). She is the First Lady of Syria and takes a prominent public role. Before being married she was an investment banker. They have three children.^[5]
  • Majd al-Assad (1967–2009), died after a long illness.^[8][9][10] He was married to Ru’a Ayyoub (b. 1976) and had no children.
  • Maher al-Assad (born 1967), is the commander of the Republican Guard, which are also known as the Presidential Guard, and the army's elite Fourth Armored Division, which together with Syria's secret police form the core of the country's security forces.^[11] He is also a member of the Baath Party central command and is said to have an aggressive and uncontrollable personality.^[12][8]

Hafez' siblings

• Jamil al-Assad (1933–2004), parliamentarian and commander of a minor militia. Politically marginalized years before his death.^[5]
  • Mundhir al-Assad (born 1961), was arrested in 2005 at the Beirut Airport while entering Lebanon.^[5] He was reported to have been involved in arms smuggling to the Iraqi insurgents.^[13] In 2011, the EU placed sanctions on him for being involved with the Shabbiha militia in the repression of protestors during the 2011 Syrian uprising.^[12][14]
  • Fawwaz al-Assad (born 1962), had sanctions placed on him in 2011 by the EU for being involved with the Shabbiha militia in the repression of protestors during the 2011 Syrian uprising.^[14][15]
  • One daughter is married to Yarob Kanaan, whose father is:
    Ghazi Kanaan (1942-2005) who in 2005 during his term as interior minister presumably killed himself. The Kanaans come from the Kalabiyya tribe.^[16]

• Rifaat al-Assad (born 1937). Formerly a powerful security chief who was responsible for the 1982 Hama massacre. After attempting a coup d'état in 1984 he went into exile in France and now lives in London.^[17] He is married with four wives:
  Amira al-Assad, a cousin^[16]
  Sana' Makhlouf, from the family of Hafez' wife^[16]
  Raja Barakat, from a wealthy Sunni Damascene family^[16]
  Lina al-Khayer, sister in law of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz^[16]
  Rifaat has a number of children from these marriages, including:
  • Ribal al-Assad, has lived since he was nine years old abroad, currently in the United States, in an interview in 2010 he denied that his father was involved in the massacre of Hama or that his family's branch was connected to Abdul Halim Khaddam or Ghazi Kanaan. ^[17]
  • Somar al-Assad, supports his father actively in his opposition to Bashar.^[16]
  • Lamia, is married to 'Ala al-Fayad, the son of Shafiq al-Fayad (former Syrian General).^[16][18][19]
  • Mudar al-Assad, is married to May Haydar, daughter of the Syrian multimillionaire Muhammad Haydar.^[20]
  • Tumadhir, is married to Mu'ein Nasef Kheir Bek (also from the Kalabiyya tribe), who is indirectly related by marriage and blood to Abd al-Halim Khaddam, Rafik Hariri and the influential Homs al-Atassi-Family.^[16]

• Sister of Hafez al-Assad married into the Shalish family.
  • Gen. Dhu al-Himma Shalish (born 1956), a cousin of Bashar al-Assad, is the head of presidential security and is part of the inner circle of leadership of the Bashar al-Assad regime.^[21][22] He had sanctions placed on him by the US government for supplying weapons to Saddam Hussein and his regime.^[23][21]On 24 June 2011 the EU sanctioned him for being involved in violence against demonstrators during the 2011 Syrian uprising.^[24]
    • Asef Isa Shalish, nephew of Dhu al-Himma, is the manager of SES, a company that was involved in the weapons trade with Iraq and Iran.^[8][25][26]
  • Riyad Shalish is a cousin of Bashar Assad and the director of the governmental construction organization the Military Housing Establishment, which during the 1990s he managed to transform into his own company. He made a fortune on construction and contracting deals in Syria involving large scale projects financed by other Arab states. On 24 June 2011 the EU sanctioned him for providing funding to the regime to repress protesters of the 2011 Syrian uprising.^[24][27]

• About Hafez' siblings who died early: Bayat, Bahijat and an unknown sister almost nothing is known.^[3]

Anisa's siblings (Makhlouf family)

The Makhloufs belong to the Alawi Haddad tribe^[16], both Hafez and Rifaat are related through marriage to the Makhloufs. The net worth of the family was estimated in 2006 to be around three billion dollars.^[8]

• Muhammad Makhlouf (born 1932), made a fortune, both through management of state companies and in the private sector.^[28][29][30]
  • Rami Makhlouf (born 1969), is a wealthy businessman and the main owner of SyriaTel.^[8] According to the Financial Times he is thought to control as much as 60% of the economy through his web of business interests that include telecommunications, oil and gas, construction, banking, airlines and retail, and he is widely seen as the business arm of the Assad regime.^[31][12]
  • Col. Hafez Makhlouf (born 1971), is the deputy director of the General Security Directorate and intelligence chief of the Damascus branch.^{[31][32][12][33]} He works under Ali Mamlouk but enjoys far greater influence with his cousin, Bashar al-Assad. He, along with Maher al-Assad, Assef Shawkat and Dhu al-Himma Shalish, comprise the inner circle of leadership.^[21]
  • Iyad Makhlouf (born 1973), twin of Ihab Makhlouf, is a General Security Directorate officer. The EU sanctioned him for being involved in violence against the civilian population during the 2011 Syrian uprising.^[14]
  • Ihab Makhlouf (born 1973), twin of Iyad Makhlouf, is Vice-President of SyriaTel and caretaker for Rami Makhlouf's US company. The EU sanctioned him for providing funding to the Assad regime and allowing violence against demonstrators in the 2011 Syrian uprising.^[14] He is believed to be in charge of the sniper units that are being used to shoot at protestors in the uprising.^[34]

• Fatma Makhlouf, sister of Anisa Makhlouf.
  • Atef Najib, is the former head of Political Security Directorate in Deraa.^[35] The EU sanctioned him for being involved in violence against demonstrators in the 2011 Syria uprising.^[12]

• Gen. Adnan Makhlouf, brother of Anisa, former commander of the Republican Guard.^[36]

Hafez' cousins

• Adnan al-Assad, Leader of "Struggle companies" militia in Damascus.^[37]
• Muhammad al-Assad, Another leader of the "Struggle companies".
• Gen. Shafiq Fayyad, cousin of Hafez from his aunt in the village of Ayn al-Arus in Jableh. Former commander of the Third Armored Division.^[38]

Other relatives

• Numeir al-Assad, second degree cousin of Hafez' children, led a criminal gang in Latakia and was arrested after he robbed a bank.^[5]

References

External links

• Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, BBC, 10 May 2011
• Syria's Leaders, Esther Pan, Council on Foreign Relations, 10 March 2006