Al-Assad family

Al-Assad Family
عائِلَة الأَسَد
ʿāʾila al-ʾAsad

The Assad family before 1994. Front: Hafez al-Assad and his wife, Anisa Makhlouf. Rear, left to right: Maher, Bashar, Bassel, Majid, and Bushra al-Assad
Ethnicity Syrian
Current region Latakia
Place of origin Syria
Members Hafez al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad
Maher al-Assad
Rifaat al-Assad
Connected families Makhlouf, Shalish

The al-Assad family (Arabic: عائِلَة الأَسَد ʿāʾila al-ʾAsad) has ruled Syria since Hafez al-Assad became President of Syria in 1971 and established an authoritarian government under the control of the Ba'ath Party. After his death in 2000, his son Bashar 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 1927, when Ali Sulayman (1875–1963) changed his last name to al Assad, which means "the lion" in Arabic, possibly in connection with his social standing as a local mediator and his political activities. All members of the extended Assad family stem from Ali Sulayman and his second wife Naissa, who came from a village in the An-Nusayriyah Mountains.[3]

Family connections continue to be important in Syrian politics. Several close family members of Hafez al-Assad have held important positions in the government since his rise to power and continuing after his death.[4][5]

Origin

The Assad family originates from Sulayman al-Wahhish, Hafez Assad's grandfather, who lived in the northern Syrian mountains in the village of Qardaha. The locals reportedly nicknamed him Wahhish, which means "wild beast" in Arabic, because he was physically strong and a good fighter. Al-Wahhish remained the family name until the 1920s when it was changed to al-Assad which means "lion" in Arabic. Because of Sulayman's reported strength and marksmanship, he was respected in his village. At the outbreak of the World War I, the Ottoman governor of the Aleppo Vilayet sent troops to the area to collect taxes and round up recruits. The troops reportedly were fought off by Sulayman and his friends who were only armed with sabres and old muskets.[6] Because Sulayman was respected, he was a local mediator between quarreling families. He was also one of the local chieftains who were the de facto rulers of the area. The chieftains from the powerful families would provide protection to their neighbours and in return they gained loyalty and respect.[7]

Hafez al-Assad's father Ali Sulayman al-Assad, who was born in 1875, inherited many similar characteristics of his own father and became well-respected among the locals. For his accomplishments, he was called al-Assad, the lion, by the locals.[8] He made his nickname a surname in 1927.[9] He lived until 1963, long enough to see his son's rise to power. He married twice and over three decades had eleven children. His first wife Sa'ada was from the district of Haffeh. They had three sons and two daughters. His second wife was Na'isa, twenty years younger than him. She was the daughter of Uthman Abbud from the village of Qutilba, a dozen kilometres further up the mountain. They had a daughter and five sons. Hafez was born on 6 October 1930 and was the fourth child.[10]

Hafez's family

Hafez al-Assad

President Hafez al-Assad with his family in the early 1970s. Left to right: Bashar, Maher, Mrs Anisa Makhlouf, Majd, Bushra, and Bassel

Hafez's siblings

Jamil al-Assad

Rifaat al-Assad and Hafez in the early 1980s

Rifaat al-Assad

Shalish family

Ahmed al-Assad

Ibrahim al-Assad

About Hafez's 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,[27][41] both Hafez and Rifaat are related through marriage to the Makhloufs. The Makhlouf family rose from humble beginnings to become the financial advisor to Hafez al-Assad after the former President married Makhlouf's sister. The family headed by Mohammad Makhlouf has established a vast financial empire in the telecommunication, retail, banking, power generation, and oil and gas sectors.[31] The net worth of the family was estimated in 2010 to be at least five billion dollars.[16][42]

Hafez's cousins

Other relatives

References

Citations
  1. Eyal Zisser (2004). "Bashar al-Asad and his Regime – Between Continuity and Change". Orient. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  2. McConville, Patrick Seale with the assistance of Maureen (1990). Asad of Syria: The Struggle For The Middle East. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-520-06976-3.
  3. 1 2 Martin Stäheli: Die syrische Außenpolitik unter Hafiz Assad, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07867-3; p. 40
  4. Robin Wright (22 February 2008). "Sanctions on Businessman Target Syria's Inner Sanctum". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview" (PDF). Comparative Strategy 25: 380. doi:10.1080/01495930601105412. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  6. Seale 1990, p. 3.
  7. Seale 1990, p. 4.
  8. Zahler 2009, p. 25.
  9. Alianak 2007, p. 128.
  10. Seale 1990, p. 5.
  11. "Council Implementing Decision". European Union. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  12. 1 2 Mohamad Daoud (October 2006). "Dossier: Bushra Assad". Mideast Monitor. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  13. Bushra Assad children
  14. 1 2 "Bomb kills Syria defense minister, Assad’s brother-in-law and key aides". Al Arabiya. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
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  18. Martin Stäheli: Die syrische Außenpolitik unter Hafiz Assad, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-515-07867-3; p. 42
  19. "President al-Assad Announces the Passing Away of His Brother Majd" (SANA); "Majd Hafiz al-Assad, the younger brother of President Bashar al-Assad, died on Saturday December 12, 2009 at the age of 43" (Joshua Landis Blog). "Republished". Inside Middle East. 12 December 2009.
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  28. 1 2 Robert Fisk (16 September 2010). "Freedom, democracy and human rights in Syria – Ribal al-Assad gives our writer a rare insight into the dynasty that has shaped modern Syria". The Independent. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  29. 1 2 Duelfer, Charles (30 September 2004). Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq’s WMD (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. pp. 103–104.
  30. Shmuel Bar: Bashar’s Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview In: Comparative Strategy, 25, 2006, Special Issue, p. 382
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  35. 1 2 3 "Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 611/2011 of 23 June 2011 implementing Regulation(EU) No 442/2011 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria". Official Journal of the European Union. L164/54. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
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  39. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/alawites-rally-assad-cousin-killed-syria-150809192103838.html
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  45. Getting to know Syria's first family
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  53. AFP Al Arabiya News (14 March 2015). "Assad relative assassinated in Syria". Middle East: alarabiya.net. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  54. 1 2 Hanna Batatu (1999). Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Princeton University Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-691-00254-5. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
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Bibliography

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