Bashar al-Assad Bio, Wife, Family, Religion, Net worth, Height, Father

Bashar al-Assad is the 19th President of Syria, who was sworn in on July 17, 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, the former Syrian President. He became his father’s apparent successor after the early death of his older brother Bassel, who died in a car accident in 1994. In addition to being the Syrian President, he is also the regional secretary of the Ba’ath Party, an Arab socialist party and the supreme commander of the Syrian Armed Forces. Before assuming the role of President, Bashar was a practicing doctor, studying medicine at the University of Damascus, Syria and at the Western Eye Hospital in London.

Bashar al-Assad biography

Bashar al-Assad was born on September 11, 1965 in Syria’s largest city Damascus, the third child of his parents, Hafez al-Assad, who was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000, and Anisa Makhlouf. He had his childhood experiences in the city of Damascus. Although he has not revealed any information about his basic education, the 19th Syrian leader revealed that he attended the Arabic-French al-Hurriya school in Damascus, where he studied English and French.

After graduating in 1982, Bashar enrolled at the University of Damascus, where he studied medicine and graduated in 1988. After graduating from the medical school, the doctor served as a doctor at the Tishrin Military Hospital for four years. Having no interest in politics, Assad moved to Western Eye Hospital in London in 1992, where he continued his studies and received a master’s degree in ophthalmology.

After the death of his older brother Bassel in 1994, he was involved in a serious car accident. His father ordered him to return to Damascus to prepare him for the takeover. Accordingly, Assad was admitted to the military academy in Homs and within five years rose to the rank of colonel. At the same time he served his father as an advisor. He was sworn in as the 19th Syrian leader on July 17, 2000, following the death of his father Hafez al-Assad on June 10, 2000.

Even though he promised many economic reforms at the beginning, Bashar followed in his father’s footsteps as he maintained his father’s position in the Syrian fight against Israel and continued to show no regard for human life to retain power. He also defied several calls from the international community to step down, leading to a civil war from 2011 to 2015.

Wealth (income and earnings)

No doubt Bashar al-Assad who has been in power for 19 years ranks among the richest presidents in the world as he comes from a very wealthy family. Its financial value is estimated to be between US$1.5 billion to US$5 billion.

his religion

Regarding his religion, Bashar al-Assad is an Alawite descended from Shia Islam and worships Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. However, the sect added some aspects of other faiths to its religion, such as Christianity, and possessed its own Holy Trinity, which included Muhammad, Ali, and Salman the Persian, a companion of the Prophet.

Bashar al-Assad’s family – his father and wife

As mentioned earlier, Bashar al-Assad is the third child of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and his mother’s name is Anisa Makhlouf. Before his father came to power as Syrian President, he took part in the 1963 Syrian coup that brought to power the Syrian Regional Branch of the Ba’ath Arab Socialist Party. The government made him commander of the Syrian Air Force. He ousted the traditional leaders of the Ba’ath Party in the second coup and forced a radical military faction leader named Salah Jadid to take power.

He initiated the third coup in four years and proclaimed himself the undisputed leader of Syria. Hafez al-Assad supported the Soviet Union during the Cold War in exchange for supporting Israel. After ruling Syria for almost three decades, he died of heart failure and before his death installed his son Bashar al-Assad as the next president. Assad lost his mother Makhlouf in 2016 in the city of Damascus.

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Bashar al-Assad married Asma Akhras in December 2000. The First Lady resigned from her investment banking job after marrying the 19th Syrian President. The couple share three children, two sons named Hafez born in 2001 and Karim born in 2004 and a daughter named Zein born in 2003.

Height

The 19th President of Syria is quite tall and ranks among the highest Presidents in the world. He stands at a glorious height of 1.89 m.