Fahd Jassem al-Freij

Fahd Jassem al-Freij
Jassem al-Freij (left) and Ali Larijani (right)
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 July 2012
President	Bashar Al-Assad
Preceded by	Dawoud Rajiha
Deputy Prime Minister of Syria
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 June 2012
Prime Minister	Riyad Farid Hijab Wael Nader al-Halqi
Preceded by	Abdullah al-Dardari
Minister of Defense
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 July 2012
Prime Minister	Riyad Farid Hijab Wael Nader al-Halqi
Preceded by	Dawoud Rajiha
Chief of the General Staff of the Army and the Armed Forces
In office 8 August 2011 – 18 July 2012
President	Bashar al-Assad
Defense Minister	Dawoud Rajiha
Preceded by	Dawoud Rajiha
Succeeded by	Ali Abdullah Ayyoub
Personal details
Born	(1950-01-17) 17 January 1950 Hama, Syria
Political party	Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
Religion	Sunni Islam
Military service
Allegiance	Syria
Service/branch	Syrian Arab Army
Years of service	1971-Present
Rank	Colonel General
Unit	Armoured Corps
Commands	Special Forces Operations Staff

Fahd Jassem al-Freij (Arabic:فهد جاسم الفريج) ^[1] (born 1 January 1950) is the Minister of Defense of Syria, taking office on 18 July 2012.

Early life and education

Freij was born in Hama in a Sunni Arab tribe on 17 January 1950. He joined the Syrian Arab Army in 1968, and graduated as an armoured corps lieutenant from the Homs Military Academy in 1971.

Freij attended different courses and a higher military education:

• Bachelor in Military Sciences, Armoured Officer, Homs Military Academy, in 1971,
• Staff Course,
• Airborne paratroops course,
• General Command and Staff Course,
• Higher Staff Course (War Course).

Career

On 8 August 2011, Freij was appointed Chief of Staff of the Syrian Arab Army during the Syrian civil war. In December 2011, defected Syrian Army officers reported that prior to his appointment of Chief of Staff, al-Freij commanded the Syrian Army Special Forces in the regions of Daraa, Idlib and Hama during the Syrian uprising.

However, on 18 July 2012, after Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha was assassinated in the 2012 Damascus bombing, Freij was appointed by Bashar al-Assad to succeed Rajiha.^[1] He was also named as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces.^[2]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fahd Jassem al-Freij.

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

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 Abdullah Ayyoub

Syrian Civil War Part of the Arab Winter   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 Syrian occupation of Lebanon 2005 Damascus Declaration Human rights in Syria 2011 (Jan–Apr • May–Aug • Sep–Dec) 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 (Jan–Apr • May–Aug • Sep–Dec) al-Midan bombing Second Battle of Rastan First Idlib operation First 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 First 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 Talbiseh bakery massacre 2013 (Jan–Apr • May–Dec) Battle of Safira Battle of Shadadeh Damascus offensive Battle of Raqqa Daraa offensive Third Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl Ghouta chemical attack Al-Qusayr offensive Second Battle of al-Qusayr Bayda and Baniyas massacres Second Hama offensive Hatla massacre Khan al-Assal chemical attack Khan al-Assal massacre Adra massacre Battle of Ras al-Ayn Fourth Rif Dimashq offensive Aleppo offensive 2014 (Jan–Jul • Aug–Dec) First Inter-Rebel Conflict Battle of Markada First Deir ez-Zor Offensive Battle of Mork 2nd Daraa Offensive Maan massacre Al-Otaiba ambush 4th Idlib Offensive Battle of Hosn 2nd Latakia Offensive Battle of Al-Malihah Kafr Zita chemical attack Second Siege of Wadi Deif 2nd Qalamoun Offensive Battle of Arsal First Battle of the Shaer gas field Eastern Syria Offensive Battle for Tabqa Air base 3rd Hama Offensive Quneitra Offensive 6th Rif Dimashq offensive Siege of Kobanî 3rd Daraa offensive 2nd Al-Safira offensive Idlib Raid Second Inter-Rebel Conflict Second Battle of the Shaer gas field Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin 2nd Deir ez-Zor offensive 2015 (Jan–Jul • Aug–Dec) An-26 crash 4th Daraa Offensive Southern Syria Offensive Eastern al-Hasakah offensive 1st Battle of Sarrin 2nd Battle of Sarrin Battle of Bosra 5th Idlib Offensive Second Battle of Idlib Battle of Nasib Border Crossing 2nd Battle of Yarmouk Camp Western al-Hasakah offensive Palmyra offensive (May 2015) Tell Abyad offensive Kobanî massacre Quneitra offensive Palmyra offensive (July–August 2015) Northwestern Syria offensive 2015 Aleppo offensive 2015 Al-Hawl offensive Homs offensive (November–December 2015) Latakia offensive (2015–present) Tishrin Dam offensive 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown 2016 (Jan–Jul Second Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin Deir ez-Zor massacre Sayyidah Zaynab bombings Northern Aleppo offensive (2016) Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016) Spillover Spillover into Lebanon Lebanese–Syrian border clashes Battle of Sidon Iranian Embassy Bombing Northern Lebanon Clashes Syrian-Turkish border clashes December 2011 Syrian–Turkish border clash Turkish aircraft shootdown October 2012 Syrian-Turkish border clashes Reyhanlı bombings January 2014 Turkish airstrike in Syria Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents Jordanian-Syrian border clashes April 2014 Jordanian–Syrian border airstrike Spillover into Iraq Akashat ambush Operation al-Shabah April 2014 Iraqi–Syrian border airstrike   Parties involved Syria Syrian Government Syrian Ba'ath Party Army & Militias Syrian Armed Forces Syrian Arab Army 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