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| Affiliation | Arab Socialist Ba'ath – Syria |
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| <- |
2012-01-01 |
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| Name | Bashar al-Assad |
| Address |
Damascus, , Syria |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
September 11, 1965
(58 years)
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| Contributor | Ben |
| Last Modifed | RBH
Feb 28, 2013 07:22pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | Bashar Al-Assad's life was changed in 1994 by the death in a car crash of his older brother Basil, who was being groomed for the highest office. Bashar, 34, is known to be passionate about the Internet and his modernizing credentials have been further bolstered by his role in a domestic anti-corruption drive. Between 1988 and 1992 Bashar Al-Assad studied ophthalmology at the Tishrin military hospital in Damascus, before going to London for further studies as an ophthalmologist. But the death of his father, Basil al-Assad catapulted him into the world of Damascus politics. Bashar entered the military academy at Homs, north of Damascus, and rose through the ranks to become a colonel in January 1999. The army plays a key role in Syrian politics - his father headed both the Army and the Air Force. Bashar now heads a Syrian scientific society for information technology and, according to his friends, he is determined to bring the country into the age of the internet, which is still in its infancy in Syria.
Bashar Al-Assad is the current President Syrian Arab Republic. Bashar's first official trip abroad was to Lebanon in 1995, where Syria wields enormous influence. He is reported to have played a key role in the accession of General Emile Lahoud to the Lebanese presidency in 1998. In February of 1999 he met Jordan's King Abdallah in Amman, then in July and August he visited the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait. He also visited Oman in October. According to Kuwaiti press reports, he controversially referred to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as a "beast" during his visit to the oil-rich Gulf state invaded by Iraq in 1990. In November he met French President Jacques Chirac in Paris. Bashar Al-Assad became head of the Baath Party Regional Command at the Congress of the party, in June of 2000. The Parliament, on 25 June, nominated him for the presidency, and this choice was confirmed for a seven-year mandate by the referendum held on 10 June 2000.
Bashar has spearheaded a drive to weed out corrupt government officials - thereby also eliminating potential rivals in the old guard. Several senior army officers have been retired and powerful intelligence chiefs dismissed. The Syrian press has been publishing more and more articles about graft within government and frequently reports arrests. Former intelligence chief Brigadier Bashir Najjar was jailed for 12 years for corruption. Mahmud al-Zohbi, prime minister since 1987, was fired in March and committed suicide two months later rather than face arrest in a corruption investigation.
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