Hafez al-Assad facts for kids

Quick facts for kids General Hafez al-Assad
حافظ الأسد
Hafez al-Assad in 1987
18th President of Syria
In office 12 March 1971 – 10 June 2000
Prime Minister	Himself Abdul Rahman Khleifawi Mahmoud al-Ayyubi Abdul Rahman Khleifawi Muhammad Ali al-Halabi Abdul Rauf al-Kasm Mahmoud Zuabi Muhammad Mustafa Mero
Vice President	Mahmoud al-Ayyubi (1971–1976) Rifaat al-Assad (1984–1998) Abdul Halim Khaddam (1984–2000) Zuhair Masharqa (1984–2000)
Preceded by	Ahmad al-Khatib
Succeeded by	Abdul Halim Khaddam (Acting) Bashar al-Assad
Prime Minister of Syria
In office 21 November 1970 – 3 April 1971
President	Ahmad al-Khatib Himself
Preceded by	Nureddin al-Atassi
Succeeded by	Abdul Rahman Khleifawi
Regional Secretary of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch
In office 18 November 1970 – 10 June 2000
Deputy	Mohamad Jaber Bajbouj Zuhair Masharqa Sulayman Qaddah
Preceded by	Nureddin al-Atassi
Succeeded by	Bashar al-Assad
Secretary General of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
In office 12 September 1971 – 10 June 2000
Deputy	Abdullah al-Ahmar
Preceded by	Nureddin al-Atassi
Succeeded by	Abdullah al-Ahmar (de facto; al-Assad is still de jure Secretary General, even though he is dead.)
Minister of Defense
In office 23 February 1966 – 22 March 1972
President	Nureddin al-Atassi Ahmad al-Khatib Himself
Prime Minister	Yusuf Zuaiyin Nureddin al-Atassi Himself Abdul Rahman Kleifawi
Preceded by	Muhammad Umran
Succeeded by	Mustafa Tlass
Member of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch
In office 27 March 1966 – 10 June 2000
In office 5 September 1963 – 4 April 1965
Personal details
Born	(1930-10-06)6 October 1930 Qardaha, Alawite State, Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
Died	10 June 2000(2000-06-10) (aged 69) Damascus, Syria
Resting place	Qardaha, Syria
Political party	Ba'ath Party (Syrian faction) (since 1966)
Other political affiliations	Arab Ba'ath Party (1946–47) Ba'ath Party (1947–66)
Spouse(s)	Anisa Makhlouf (1957–2000)
Relations	Jamil, Rifaat (brothers)
Children	Bushra, Bassel, Bashar, Majd, Maher
Parent(s)	Ali Sulayman al-Assad Na'sa al-Assad
Alma mater	Homs Military Academy
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Syria
Branch/service	Syrian Air Force Syrian Armed Forces
Years of service	1952–2000
Rank	General
Commands	Syrian Air Force Syrian Armed Forces
Battles/wars	Six-Day War (1967) War of Attrition (1967–70) Black September (1970–71) Yom Kippur War (1973)

Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: حافظ الأسد, Ḥāfiẓ al-Asad; 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was president of Syria from 1971 until his death. He was also the general of Syrian Air Force from 1955 - 1972. He was born in Qardaha and died in Damascus. He had four sons and a daughter. His eldest son Bassel al-Assad died in 1994. In 2000, al-Assad died of a heart attack. He was succeeded as president by his second-oldest son Bashar al-Assad (born 1965), who still has that job.

Images for kids

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  Hafez al-Assad (above) standing on the wing of a Fiat G.46-4B with fellow cadets at the Syrian AF Academy outside Aleppo, 1951–52

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  Assad (center) and Nureddin al-Atassi (left) meeting with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, 1969

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  General Hafez al-Assad in 1970.

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  Assad's first inauguration as president in the People's Council, March 1971. L–R: Assad, Abdullah al-Ahmar, Prime Minister Abdul Rahman Khleifawi, Assistant Regional Secretary Mohamad Jaber Bajbouj, Foreign Minister Abdul Halim Khaddam and People's Council Speaker Fihmi al-Yusufi. In the third civilian row are Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass (MP in the 1971 Parliament) and Air Force Commander Naji Jamil. Behind Tlass is Rifaat al-Assad, Assad's younger brother. On the far right in the fourth row is future vice president Zuhair Masharqa, and behind Abdullah al-Ahmar is Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Haidar.

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  Assad in 1971 with Sunni members of the political elite: (L–R) Ahmad al-Khatib, Assad, Abdullah al-Ahmar and Mustafa Tlass

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  Assad, Algerian President Houari Boumediene and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 1977.

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  Assad in early 1980s.

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  Assad (r) with his brother, Rifaat al-Assad, 1980s

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  Assad and his wife, Anisa Makhlouf; back row, left to right: Maher, Bashar, Bassel, Majid and Bushra al-Assad, circa 1992-93.

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  Assad and Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in Teheran, 1997.

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  Tabqa Dam (center), built-in 1974

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  Assad and Mustafa Tlass on the Golan front, October 1973.

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  Assad in a rage after Sadat visits Israel, 1977