Mohammed Saeed Bekheitan
| Mohammed Saeed Bekheitan | |
|---|---|
| Assistant Regional Secretary of the Syrian Regional Branch | |
|
In office 9 June 2005 – 8 July 2013 | |
| Regional Secretary | Bashar al-Assad |
| Preceded by | Sulayman Qaddah |
| Succeeded by | Hilal Hilal |
| National Security Bureau of the Regional Command | |
|
In office 21 June 2000 – 6 June 2005 | |
| Regional Secretary | Bashar al-Assad |
| Preceded by | Abd al-Rauf al-Qasem |
| Succeeded by | Hisham Ikhtiyar |
| Member of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch | |
|
In office 21 June 2000 – 8 July 2013 | |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Political party | Syria Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party |
| Religion | Islam |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Syria |
| Rank | General |
Mohammed Saeed Bekheitan is the Assistant Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the Ba'ath Party. He has held the position since 2005. He is a close associate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher al-Assad and is considered a senior decision-maker in the government.[1]
Mohammed Bukheitan is a Sunni Muslim from Bedouin origins in Deir ez-Zor, a Sunni dominated region near the border with Iraq.[2] He built his career in the police, eventually attaining the rank of general in the criminal security branch of the Ministry of Interior. From 1993 to 2000 he served as Governor of Hama, a major Sunni region in Syria. Since June 2000, he has been on the Regional Command of the Syrian Ba'ath Party. He headed the important National Security Bureau from 2000 to 2005 and since then has been the Assistant Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the Baath Party, the second highest position in the political party after the Syrian president.[3]
He has been described by sources as an old guard Ba'athist who opposes reform efforts in Syria, even from inside the Ba'ath party. He was sanctioned by the European Union for "his senior decision making role in the repression of protesters participating in the Syrian Civil War".[1]
References
- 1 2 "Joint Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011". EuroLex. 52011PC0887. 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ↑ Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview" (PDF). Comparative Strategy 25: 435. doi:10.1080/01495930601105412. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ↑ http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/12/05DAMASCUS6394.html