Dawoud Rajiha

Dawoud Rajiha
Minister of Defense
In office 8 August 2011 – 18 July 2012
President	Bashar al-Assad
Prime Minister	Adel Safar Riyad Hijab
Deputy	Assef Shawkat
Preceded by	Ali Habib Mahmud
Succeeded by	Fahd Jassem al-Freij
Chief of Army Staff
In office 3 June 2009 – 8 August 2011
President	Bashar al-Assad
Minister	Ali Habib Mahmud
Preceded by	Ali Habib Mahmud
Succeeded by	Fahd Jassem al-Freij
Personal details
Born	Dawoud Abdallah Rajiha 1947 Damascus, Syria
Died	18 July 2012(2012-07-18) (aged 65) Damascus, Syria
Political party	Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
Religion	Greek Orthodox Christianity
Military service
Allegiance	Syria
Service/branch	Syrian Arab Army
Years of service	1967–2012
Rank	Colonel General
Unit	3rd Armoured Division, Artillery
Battles/wars	Yom Kippur War Islamic uprising in Syria Syrian occupation of Lebanon 1982 Lebanon War Gulf War Syrian civil war

Dawoud Abdallah Rajiha (Arabic: داود راجحة‎‎; 1947 – 18 July 2012), forename sometimes transliterated Dawood or Daoud, surname sometimes transliterated Rajha, was the Syrian minister of defense from 2011 to July 2012 when he was assassinated along with other senior military officers by armed opposition forces during the country's Civil War. From 2009 to 2011, Rajiha served as chief of staff of the Syrian Army.

Early life

Rajiha, a Greek Orthodox, was born in Damascus in 1947.^[1][2] A specialist in artillery, he graduated from Syria's military academy in 1967.^[1]

Military education

Dawoud Abdallah Rajiha attended different courses and a higher military education:

• Bachelor in Military Sciences, Field Artillery Officer, Syrian Military Academy
• Staff Course
• General Command and Staff Course
• Higher Staff Course (War Course)

Career

Rajiha attained the rank of major general in 1998 and was appointed as the Syrian Army's deputy chief of staff six years later, in 2004.^[3] In 2005, he received a promotion to the rank of general called Imad (a rank in the Syrian armed forces between major general and lieutenant general).^[4] When Ali Habib Mahmud was named to head the ministry of defense in 2009, Rajiha was given the position of army chief of staff.^[4] He held this position in 2011, when the Syrian civil war began. On 8 August 2011, he was chosen by President Bashar al-Assad to replace Mahmud as minister of defense.^[1][2]

Sanctions

Rajiha was sanctioned by the United States in March 2012 due to his loyalty to the Assad regime.^[5]

Rumored death

On 20 May 2012, the Damascus council of the Free Syrian Army, among the rebel organizations opposed to the Assad government, alleged that it had assassinated Rajiha and the seven other members of the government's military crisis unit. Despite indications that high-ranking members of the government had been affected by a medical emergency, it was since proven that the allegations were false. Members of the unit, including former minister of defense Hasan Turkmani, were shown on Syrian television to be alive, and the rebels later stated that only Rajiha's deputy, General Assef Shawkat, and a second official who was not named. Shawkat, the brother-in-law of President Assad, was later shown to have survived, as well.^[6][7][8] In June 2012, the matter of Rajiha's alleged death was permanently resolved when it was confirmed that he remained Assad's defense minister in the newly formed cabinet.^[9]

Personal life

Rajiha was married and had four children.^[3]

Death and funeral

Almost two months after the date of his alleged death, Rajiha was assassinated in 18 July 2012 Damascus bombing at the Syrian National Security Building at Rawda Square, Damascus. Among the others killed in the bombing were Hasan Turkmani and Assef Shawkat.^[10][11][12] Fahd Jassem al-Freij was named by President Assad as Rajiha's successor as minister of defense, while it was announced that Addounia TV would broadcast the minister's funeral. A state funeral was held for him, Hasan Turkmani and Assef Shawkat in Damascus on 20 July 2012. A religious ceremony for him took place in the Holy Cross church in Damascus.^[13] Bashar al-Assad did not participate in the ceremony and was represented by vice president Farouk al-Sharaa.^[14] A military ceremony was also held for him and other two senior officials, Hassan Turkmani and Assef Shawkat, in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Mount Qasioun, overlooking Damascus.^[14]

References

v t e Syrian Ministers of Defense al-Ulshi al-Azmeh al-Atrash al-Kayyali Atfeh Mardam Bey Atfeh al-Hawrani al-Atassi Selu al-Azm al-Dawalibi Barmada Raslan al-Azm Raslan al-Sufi al-Hariri Umran al-Assad Tlass Turkmani Mahmud Rajiha al-Freij

v t e Chiefs of General Staff of the Army and the Armed Forces of Syria Abdullah Atfeh Husni al-Za'im Sami al-Hinnawi Anwar Bannud Fawzi Selu Shawkat Shuqayr Tawfiq Nizam al-Din Afif al-Bizri Jamal al-Faisal Abd al-Karim Zahr al-Din Ziad al-Hariri Salah Jadid Ahmad Suwaydani Mustafa Tlass Yusuf Shakkur Hikmat al-Shihabi Ali Aslan Hasan Turkmani Ali Habib Mahmud Dawoud Rajiha Fahd Jassem al-Freij Ali Ayoub

v t e Syrian Civil War Part of the Arab Spring   Background Timeline Background 1963 coup d'état 1966 coup d'état 1970 "Corrective Revolution" 1979–82 Islamic uprising 1999 Latakia protests 2000–01 Damascus Spring 2004 al-Qamishli riots 2005 Damascus Declaration Human rights in Syria Timeline 2011 January–April May–August September–December 2012 January–April May–August September–December 2013 January–April May 2013–present   Events 2011 Death of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb Siege of Daraa Siege of Baniyas Talkalakh siege Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh Jisr ash-Shugur operation Siege of Hama Siege of Homs Jabal al-Zawiya operation Siege of Latakia Deir ez-Zor clashes Rif Dimashq clashes Battle of Zabadani Battle of Douma Daraa Governorate clashes First Battle of Rastan Shayrat and Tiyas airbase ambush Idlib Governorate clashes Jabal al-Zawiya massacres 2012 al-Midan bombing Second Battle of Rastan First Idlib operation Battle of Idlib First Battle of al-Qusayr Second Idlib operation Battle of Taftanaz Third Battle of Rastan Houla massacre Battle of al-Haffah Al-Qubeir massacre Battle of Tremseh Battle of Damascus Damascus bombing Battle of Aleppo Battle of Anadan Siege of Base 46 First Rif Dimashq offensive Darayya massacre Battle of Khirbet al-Joz Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man Siege of Wadi Deif Battle of Harem Second Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Darayya Aqrab massacre First Hama offensive Halfaya massacre Battle of Darayya Quneitra Governorate clashes 2013 Battle of Safira Battle of Shadadeh Damascus offensive Battle of Raqqa Daraa offensive Third Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl Ghouta attacks Al-Qusayr offensive Second Battle of al-Qusayr Bayda and Baniyas massacres Second Hama offensive Hatla massacre Khan al-Assal massacre Adra massacre Battle of Ras al-Ayn Fourth Rif Dimashq offensive International Spillover into Lebanon Syrian-Turkish border clashes Turkish aircraft shootdown Akashat ambush   Parties involved Government Syrian Armed Forces Militias National Defense Force Jaysh al-Sha'bi al-Abbas Brigade Lijan militias Syrian Resistance PFLP-GC External support Basij (Iran) Hezbollah (Lebanon) Houthis (Yemen) Revolutionary Guards (Iran) Opposition Paramilitaries Free Syrian Army Islamic Front Al-Nusra Front Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Army of Mujahedeen Syria Revolutionaries Front Smaller groups Foreign fighters Political groups National Coalition Local Co-ordination Committees Syrian National Council Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Syrian Revolution General Commission Doctors Coordinate of Damascus Syrian Support Group Adopt a Revolution Kurds Kurdish Supreme Committee Democratic Union Party Kurdish National Council People's Protection Units Jabhat al-Akrad Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Assyrians / Syriacs Syriac Military Council Sutoro   People Ammar Abdulhamid Ali al-Abdallah Adnan al-Aroor al-Assad family Bashar Maher Rifaat Rami Makhlouf Hafez Makhlouf Riad al-Asaad Anwar al-Bunni Fahd Jassem al-Freij Haitham al-Maleh Moaz al-Khatib Kamal al-Labwani Hamza al-Khateeb Tal al-Mallohi Fida al-Sayed Riad al-Turk Ammar al-Qurabi Suheir Atassi Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni Aref Dalila Farid Ghadry Burhan Ghalioun Razan Ghazzawi Ghassan Hitto Salim Idris Randa Kassis Abdul Halim Khaddam Michel Kilo Bassma Kodmani Ali Habib Mahmud Ali Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim Qashoush Dawoud Rajiha Yassin al-Haj Saleh Bouthaina Shaaban Adib Shishakly Abdulbaset Sieda Riad Seif Fadwa Soliman Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid Yaser Tabbara Razan Zaitouneh Rami Jarrah   Issues Peace initiatives Related topics Issues Casualties Chemical weapons Cities and towns Damaged heritage sites Foreign involvement Human rights violations Humanitarian aid International reactions / protests Massacres Refugees Sectarianism and minorities Spillover into Lebanon Syrian reactions Peace initiatives Arab League monitors Friends of Syria Group Kofi Annan peace plan UN Supervision Mission Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan US-Russia Syria peace proposal 39th G8 summit UN Security Council Resolution 2118 Geneva II Conference Related topics 2014 Syrian detainee report Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference International recognition of the Syrian National Council Syria Files Syrian media coverage Category Commons Wikinews