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Presidency of Bashar al-Assad

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Bashar al-Assad
Presidency of Bashar al-Assad
17 July 2000 – 8 December 2024
Bashar al-Assad
PartyBa'ath Party
Election
SeatPresidential Palace, Damascus

Seal of the President
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The presidency of Bashar al-Assad began on 17 July 2000 succeeding his father, Hafez al-Assad who served as President of Syria from 1971 until his death on 10 June 2000,[1] until his overthrow in 2024 during the Syrian civil war on 8 December.[2]

Assad's early economic liberalisation programs worsened inequalities and centralized the socio-political power of the loyalist Damascene elite of the Assad family, alienating the Syrian rural population, urban working classes, businessmen, industrialists, and people from once-traditional Ba'ath strongholds. The Cedar Revolution in Lebanon in February 2005, triggered by the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, forced Assad to end the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

In 2011 Arab Spring protests began in Syria to which Assad responded with a brutal crackdown during the events of the Syrian revolution, which led to the Syrian civil war. The United States, European Union, and the majority of the Arab League called for Assad to resign. The civil war has killed around 580,000 people, of which a minimum of 306,000 deaths are non-combatant; according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, pro-Assad forces caused more than 90% of those civilian deaths.[3] The Assad government perpetrated numerous war crimes during the course of the Syrian civil war,[4][5][6][7][8] while its army has carried out several attacks with chemical weapons (most notably, the Ghouta chemical attack which killed hundreds mostly civilians on 21 August 2013)[9] [10] The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that findings from an inquiry by the UN implicated Assad in war crimes, and he faced international investigations and condemnation for his actions.

In November 2024, a coalition of Syrian rebels mounted several offensives against the country with the intention of ousting Assad.[11][12] On the morning of 8 December, as rebel troops first entered Damascus, Assad fled to Moscow and was granted political asylum by the Russian government.[13][14] Later that day, Damascus fell to rebel forces, and Assad's regime collapsed.[15][16][17] After his departure, mass graves were discovered with the largest believed to contain 100,000 bodies of those who opposed Assad’s administration.[18]

Academics and analysts characterized Assad's presidency as a highly personalist dictatorship,[19][20][21][22][23][24] which governed Syria as a totalitarian police state[25][26][27][28] and was marked by numerous human rights violations and severe repression. While the Assad government described itself as secular, various political scientists and observers noted that his regime exploited sectarian tensions in the country. Although Assad inherited the power structures and personality cult nurtured by his father, he lacked the loyalty received by his father and faced rising discontent against his rule. As a result, many people from his father's regime resigned or were purged, and the political inner circle was replaced by staunch loyalists from Alawite clans.

Background

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In 1988, Assad graduated from medical school and began working as an army doctor at Tishreen Military Hospital on the outskirts of Damascus.[29][30] Four years later, he settled in London to start postgraduate training in ophthalmology at the Western Eye Hospital.[31] He was described as a "geeky I.T. guy" during his time in London.[32] Bashar had few political aspirations,[33] and his father had been grooming Bashar's older brother Bassel as the future president.[34] Bashar lacked interest in politics or the military unlike Bassel, his younger brother Maher, and second sister Bushra.[35][36][37] The Assad children reportedly rarely saw their father,[38] and Bashar later stated that he only entered his father's office once while he was president.[39]

On 21 January 1994, Bassel was driving his luxury Mercedes at a high speed through fog to Damascus International Airport for a privately chartered flight to Frankfurt, Germany, on his way to a ski vacation in the Alps in the early hours of the morning),[40][41][42] Bassel collided with a barrier and, not wearing a seatbelt, died instantly.[43] Hafez Makhlouf was with him and was hospitalized with injuries after the accident; a chauffeur in the back seat was unhurt.[43]

Soon after Bassel's death, Hafez al-Assad decided to make Bashar the new heir apparent.[44] Over the next six and a half years, until his death in 2000, Hafez prepared Bashar for taking over power. General Bahjat Suleiman, an officer in the Defense Companies, was entrusted with overseeing preparations for a smooth transition,[45][38] which were made on three levels. First, support was built up for Bashar in the military and security apparatus. Second, Bashar's image was established with the public. And lastly, Bashar was familiarised with the mechanisms of running the country.[46]

To establish his credentials in the military, Bashar entered the military academy at Homs in 1994 and was propelled through the ranks to become a colonel of the elite Syrian Republican Guard in January 1999.[29][47][48] To establish a power base for Bashar in the military, old divisional commanders were pushed into retirement, and new, young, Alawite officers with loyalties to him took their place.[49]

In 1998, Bashar took charge of Syria's Lebanon file, which had since the 1970s been handled by Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, who had until then been a potential contender for president.[49] By taking charge of Syrian affairs in Lebanon, Bashar was able to push Khaddam aside and establish his own power base in Lebanon.[50] In the same year, after minor consultation with Lebanese politicians, Bashar installed Emile Lahoud, a loyal ally of his, as the President of Lebanon and pushed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri aside, by not placing his political weight behind his nomination as prime minister.[51] To further weaken the old Syrian order in Lebanon, Bashar replaced the long-serving de facto Syrian High Commissioner of Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, with Rustum Ghazaleh.[52]

Parallel to his military career, Bashar was engaged in public affairs. He was granted wide powers and became head of the bureau to receive complaints and appeals of citizens, and led a campaign against corruption. As a result of this campaign, many of Bashar's potential rivals for president were put on trial for corruption.[29] Bashar also became the President of the Syrian Computer Society and helped to introduce the internet in Syria, which aided his image as a modernizer and reformer. Ba'athist loyalists in the party, military, and the Alawite sect were supportive of Bashar al-Assad, enabling him to become his father's successor.[53]

Early years

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Then Defence Minister Mustafa Tlass alongside Bashar al-Assad, 1 August 2000. Tlass and his son Manaf Tlass later defected after the Syrian revolution.
Assad in 2004

After the death of Hafez al-Assad on 10 June 2000, the Constitution of Syria was amended. The minimum age requirement for the presidency was lowered from 40 to 34, which was Bashar's age at the time.[54] Assad contested as the only candidate and was subsequently confirmed president on 10 July 2000, with 97.29% support for his leadership.[55][56] In line with his role as President of Syria, he was also appointed the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. A series of state elections were held every seven years which Assad won with overwhelming majority of votes. The elections are unanimously regarded by independent observers as a sham process and boycotted by the opposition.[a][b] The last two elections – held in 2014 and 2021 – were conducted only in areas controlled by the Syrian government during the country's ongoing civil war and condemned by the United Nations.[66][67][68]

Syrian civil war

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Downfall

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Main article: Fall of the Assad regime

On 27 November 2024, the Syrian opposition would launch an offensive against the Assad regime. On the 8 December the opposition groups captured Damascus.[69] The Fall of Damascus would lead to the collapse of the Assad regime and the end of his presidency.[70] Assad and his family then left the country to go to Moscow and were granted asylum by the Russian government.[71]

Policies

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Domestic

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Foreign relations

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Main article: Foreign policy of the Bashar al-Assad administration

References and notes

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Notes

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  1. ^ Sources:[55][56][57][58][59]
  2. ^ Sources:[60][61][62][63][64][65]

Citations

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  1. ^ "Bashar al-Assad: Sudden downfall ends decades of family's iron rule". BBC News. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  2. ^ Christou, William; McKernan, Bethan (8 December 2024). "Syrians celebrate fall of Bashar al-Assad after five decades of dynastic rule". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Civilian Death Toll". SNHR. September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  4. ^ Robertson QC, Geoffrey (2013). "11: Justice in Demand". Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice (4th ed.). New York: The New Press. pp. 560–562, 573, 595–607. ISBN 978-1-59558-860-9.
  5. ^ Syria Freedom Support Act; Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2011. Washington DC: Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives. 2012. pp. 221–229.
  6. ^ Vohra, Anchal (16 October 2020). "Assad's Horrible War Crimes Are Finally Coming to Light Under Oath". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  7. ^ "German court finds Assad regime official guilty of crimes against humanity". Daily Sabah. 13 January 2022. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  8. ^ Nosakhare, Whitney Martina (15 March 2022). "Some Hope in the Struggle for Justice in Syria: European Courts Offer Survivors a Path Toward Accountability". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Security Council Deems Syria's Chemical Weapon's Declaration Incomplete". United Nations: Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. 6 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Fifth Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention". European Union External Action. 15 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  11. ^ Abdulrahim, Raja (7 December 2024). "The leader of Syria's rebels told The Times that their aim is to oust al-Assad". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  12. ^ "Syrian army command tells officers that Assad's rule has ended, officer says". Reuters. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  13. ^ Gebeily, Maya; Azhari, Timour (8 December 2024). "Syria's Assad and his family are in Moscow after Russia granted them asylum, say Russian news agencies". Reuters. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Bashar al-Assad and family given asylum in Moscow, Russian media say". BBC News. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  15. ^ "Syrian rebels topple President Assad, prime minister calls for free elections". Reuters. 7 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Assad flees to Moscow after rebels take Syrian capital, Russian state media report". CBC News. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  17. ^ "Syria's President Bashar al Assad is in Moscow and has been granted asylum, confirms Russian state media". 8 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  18. ^ "One of Assad's mass graves is found, with as many as 100,000 bodies". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  19. ^ Svolik, Milan. "The Politics of Authoritarian Rule". Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  20. ^ Weeks, Jessica (2014). Dictators at War and Peace. Cornell University Press. p. 18.
  21. ^ Wedeen, Lisa (2018). Authoritarian Apprehensions. Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning. University of Chicago Press. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019.
  22. ^ Hinnebusch, Raymond (2012). "Syria: from 'authoritarian upgrading' to revolution?". International Affairs. 88 (1): 95–113. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2012.01059.x.
  23. ^ Michalik, Susanne (2015). "Measuring Authoritarian Regimes with Multiparty Elections". In Michalik, Susanne (ed.). Multiparty Elections in Authoritarian Regimes: Explaining their Introduction and Effects. Studien zur Neuen Politischen Ökonomie. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. pp. 33–45. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-09511-6_3. ISBN 978-3658095116.
  24. ^ Geddes, Barbara; Wright, Joseph; Frantz, Erica (2018). How Dictatorships Work. Cambridge University Press. p. 233. doi:10.1017/9781316336182. ISBN 978-1-316-33618-2. S2CID 226899229.
  25. ^ Khamis, Sahar; Gold, Paul B.; Vaughn, Katherine (2013). "22. Propaganda in Egypt and Syria's "Cyberwars": Contexts, Actors, Tools, and Tactics". In Auerbach, Castronovo; Jonathan, Russ (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 422. ISBN 978-0-19-976441-9.
  26. ^ Wieland, Carsten (2018). "6: De-neutralizing Aid: All Roads Lead to Damascus". Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid Through Violent Regimes. London: I. B. Tauris. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-7556-4138-3.
  27. ^ Ahmed, Saladdin (2019). Totalitarian Space and the Destruction of Aura. State University of New York Press, Albany: Suny Press. pp. 144, 149. ISBN 9781438472911.
  28. ^ Hensman, Rohini (2018). "7: The Syrian Uprising". Indefensible: Democracy, Counterrevolution, and the Rhetoric of Anti-Imperialism. Chicago: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1-60846-912-3.
  29. ^ a b c "Ladno.ru" Асад Башар : биография [Bashar Assad: A Biography]. Ladno (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  30. ^ Beeston, Richard; Blanford, Nick (22 October 2005). "We are going to send him on a trip. Bye, bye Hariri. Rot in hell". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  31. ^ Leverett 2005, p. 60.
  32. ^ "How Syria's 'Geeky' President Went From Doctor to Dictator". NBC News. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  33. ^ Minahan 2002, p. 83.
  34. ^ Tucker & Roberts 2008, p. 167.
  35. ^ Zisser 2007, p. 21.
  36. ^ Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview" (PDF). Comparative Strategy. 25 (5). The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy Institute for Policy and Strategy: 16, 379. doi:10.1080/01495930601105412. S2CID 154739379. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  37. ^ Ciezadlo, Annia (19 December 2013). "Bashar Al Assad: An Intimate Profile of a Mass Murderer". The New Republic. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  38. ^ a b Khalaf, Roula (15 June 2012). "Bashar al-Assad: behind the mask". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  39. ^ Belt, Don (November 2009). "Syria". National Geographic. pp. 2, 9. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  40. ^ Theroux, Paul (1996). The Pillars of Hercules, page 416. Penguin books. ISBN 978-0-14-025314-6.
  41. ^ Bell, Don (November 2009). "Shadowland". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  42. ^ "Basil Assad killed in car crash". The Press Courier. 21 January 1994. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  43. ^ a b Sipress, Alan (22 January 1994). "Assad's Son is Killed in a Car". Inquirer. Archived from the original on 30 August 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  44. ^ Zisser 2007, p. 35.
  45. ^ Gresh, Alain (July 2020). "Syria: the rise and rise of Doctor Bashar". Le Monde diplomatique. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  46. ^ Leverett 2005, p. 61.
  47. ^ Zisser 2007, p. 30.
  48. ^ "CNN Transcript – Breaking News: President Hafez Al-Assad Assad of Syria Confirmed Dead". CNN. 10 June 2000. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  49. ^ a b Ma'oz, Ginat & Winckler 1999, p. 41.
  50. ^ Zisser 2007, pp. 34–35.
  51. ^ Blanford 2006, pp. 69–70.
  52. ^ Blanford 2006, p. 88.
  53. ^ "Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: Facing down rebellion". BBC News. 21 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  54. ^ "The rise of Syria's controversial president Bashar al-Assad". ABC News. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  55. ^ a b "Syrians Vote For Assad in Uncontested Referendum". The Washington Post. Damascus. Associated Press. 28 May 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  56. ^ a b Yacoub Oweis, Khaleb (17 May 2007). "Syria's opposition boycotts vote on Assad". Reuters. Damascus. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  57. ^ Chulov, Martin (14 April 2014). "The one certainty about Syria's looming election – Assad will win" Archived 21 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian.
  58. ^ "Syria's Assad wins another term". BBC News. 29 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  59. ^ "Democracy Damascus style: Assad the only choice in referendum". The Guardian. 28 May 2007. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  60. ^ Cheeseman, Nicholas (2019). How to Rig an Election. Yale University Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-0-300-24665-0. OCLC 1089560229.
  61. ^ Norris, Pippa; Martinez i Coma, Ferran; Grömping, Max (2015). "The Year in Elections, 2014". Election Integrity Project. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. The Syrian election ranked as worst among all the contests held during 2014.
  62. ^ Jones, Mark P. (2018). Herron, Erik S; Pekkanen, Robert J; Shugart, Matthew S (eds.). "Presidential and Legislative Elections". The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001. ISBN 9780190258658. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2024. … unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... al-Assad's 2014 election... occurred within an authoritarian context.
  63. ^ Makdisi, Marwan (16 July 2014). "Confident Assad launches new term in stronger position". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  64. ^ Evans, Dominic (28 April 2014). "Assad seeks re-election as Syrian civil war rages". Reuters. Retrieved 14 December 2024.[dead link‍]
  65. ^ "UK's William Hague attacks Assad's Syria elections plan". BBC News. 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  66. ^ "Syrians in Lebanon battle crowds to vote for Bashar al-Assad". The Guardian. 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  67. ^ "Bashar al-Assad sworn in for a third term as Syrian president". The Daily Telegraph. 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  68. ^ Kossaify, Ephrem (22 April 2021). "UN reiterates it is not involved in Syrian presidential election". Arab News. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  69. ^ "Assad flees Syria as rebels seize Damascus". Financial Times. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  70. ^ "Why the Assad regime collapsed in Syria – and why so fast". France 24. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  71. ^ Gritten, David (8 December 2024). "Bashar al-Assad and family given asylum in Moscow, Russian media say". BBC News. Retrieved 15 December 2024.

Sources

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