Bashar al-Assad

In December 2000, he married Asma Assad, a British woman of Syrian origin from London. The couple is blessed with three children; Hafez, Zein and Karim.

He was born on September 11, 1965, in Damascus, Syria, to Hafez al-Assad, and his wife, Aniseh. He is the second son among the five children of his parents. His father was a politician who eventually rose to become the President of Syria. He had an older brother, Bassel, who later died in a car accident.

He received his early education from the ‘Arab-French al Hurriya School’ in Damascus. After graduating from high school he enrolled to study medicine at the University of Damascus in 1982.

After completing his graduation, he served for four years as an army doctor at the ‘Tishrin’ military hospital. In 1992, he traveled to Western Eye Hospital in London, England, to obtain a post graduate degree in ophthalmology.

In 1994, his elder brother, Bassel—his father’s heir apparent—was killed in a car accident. Bashar was summoned to Damascus by his father, Hafez, who systematically started preparing Bashar for succeeding him as the President of Syria.

He entered the military academy at Homs, and was quickly promoted through the ranks to become a colonel in just five years. During this time, he served as an advisor to his father, hearing complaints and appeals from citizens, and also led a campaign against corruption.

On June 10, 2000, Hafez died and a few days later, Bashar was elected for a seven-year term as the President of Syria. He was also chosen to be the leader of the Ba'ath Party and ‘Commander-in- Chief’ of the military.

In his first year as president, he promised to reform the corrupt government of Syria, and spoke of moving his country towards modernisation.

At the end of his first year as president, many of his promised economic reforms were yet to materialize. The largely corrupt government bureaucracy made it difficult for the private sector to emerge, and he seemed incapable of making the necessary systemic changes.