Syrian President Bashar al-Assad defected to Russia over the weekend, ending a nearly 14-year struggle to maintain power in his country amid a civil war that has turned into a battleground for international and regional powers.
But Assad’s people have come to learn through news of the Syrian war that he is not the person some expected him to be when he took power.
rise to power
President Assad’s father, Hafez Assad, was grooming Bashar’s eldest brother, Basil, as his successor. In 1994, Basil died in a car accident in Damascus. Bashar then returned from his London ophthalmology practice, underwent military training, and was promoted to colonel, qualifying him to one day rule Syria.
Hafez ruled Syria for nearly 30 years, during which time he established a Soviet-style centralized economy. He also allied with Iran’s Shiite clerical leadership to seal Syria’s control over Lebanon and established a network of Palestinian and Lebanese armed groups.
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (center) and Asma al-Assad attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center stadium in Hangzhou, eastern China’s Zhejiang province, on September 23, 2023. Mrs. Assad (left). (Philip Fung/AFP via Getty Images)
After Hafez’s death in 2000, the country’s parliament lowered the age requirement for the presidency from 40 to 34, and Bashar became the only candidate to become president after a nationwide referendum.
Bashar initially appeared to be the complete opposite of his father. When Bashar assumed power, he spoke with a slight lisp, was tall, lanky, quiet, and had a gentle demeanor. His only public office before becoming president was as president of the Syrian Computer Association, so people believed him to be a tech-savvy computer fan with a mild demeanor.
Bashar also released political prisoners and allowed more open discussion.
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FILE – In this April 13, 2016 file photo published on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidential Palace, the Syrian president, his wife Asma (left), stands next to him as he votes in parliamentary elections in Damascus, Syria. The photo shows the person doing the same thing. (Syrian Presidential Office, via AP, File)
Princess Diana of Syria?
A few months after taking office, Bashar married Asma al-Akhras, a British-born woman known for her glamor and style. The two eventually had three children.
The couple lived in an apartment in the upscale Abu Rumaneh district of Damascus, rather than in a mansion like other Arab leaders.
Asma was born in Acton, west London, to a Sunni Muslim family from Homs, Syria, and became known as Syria’s Princess Diana.
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Syria’s First Lady Asma Al-Assad attends the harvest of Damask roses in the village of Almara in the Damascus countryside on May 25, 2023. (Louis Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)
She earned a degree in computer science and French literature from Queen’s College London and went on to work in the banking industry, working as a hedge fund analyst.
She had a “secret” wedding in 2000 when Bashar was 35 and she was only 25.
As Bashar continued to rule, things began to change.
change of direction
Bashar was dealt a blow in 2005 when the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri ended Syria’s decades-long grip on neighboring Lebanon. Many in Lebanon accused Bashar of being behind the murder. Syria was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, and a pro-American government was established.
Around the same time, the Arab world split into two. One side was allied with the United States and included Sunni-led countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, while the other consisted of Syria and Iran, as well as ties to Hezbollah and Palestinian militants.
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On May 18, 2023, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives in Jeddah to attend the Arab League summit to be held in Saudi Arabia the following day.
Bashar appointed his family members to important roles and also gave Asma a role entrusted to him.
Protesters overthrew the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt in 2011, but Bashar denied that could happen in Syria.
Security forces carried out a brutal crackdown, but Bashar denied facing a popular uprising. Rather, he blamed “foreign-backed terrorists” who sought to destabilize the regime.
The uprising escalated into a civil war, with millions of Syrians fleeing to Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Europe.
In March 2011, Vogue magazine published a profile of Asma, calling her “the rose of the desert” and “the freshest and most glamorous first lady.” The article, which describes Assad as “very democratic” and portrays him as progressive and intelligent, is based on interviews conducted in late 2010. The article was removed from the internet several weeks after publication, as Assad’s bloody crackdown on the Syrian opposition continued. It’s in progress.
“Following our interview, as the horrific events of the past year and a half have unfolded in Syria, Syria’s priorities and values ​​have become more aligned with Vogue’s priorities and values,” said Anna Wintour, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. It became clear that they were completely incompatible.” he said at the time.
extravagant spending
In 2012, WikiLeaks released private emails from a 42-year-old Briton revealing that she spent $350,000 on 130 pieces of furniture during a year of civil war.
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First Lady of Syria Asma al-Assad attends the graduation ceremony of future teachers of the Syrian Organization for Disabled Persons in Damascus on December 3, 2018. (Louis Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)
The emails released also reportedly show she also bought $7,000 shoes with crystal-encrusted heels and had the items shipped to Dubai to avoid sanctions. are.
The couple’s ultra-modern presidential residence, commissioned in 1979 and designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, is estimated to have cost $1 billion.
In 1989, the Washington Post reported that 125,000 Italian marble tiles were installed in one room at a cost of $85 each. The total cost for one room was approximately $10.6 million.
On the same day that her husband allegedly dropped sarin on civilians in Khan Sheikhun, Asma posted a photo of herself wearing a chic polka-dot dress and smiling as if deep in thought.
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Asma’s social media posts depict her as a humanitarian and are full of love, with photos of the first lady reading to children and hugging families of Syrians killed in the civil war. It had the hashtag #WeLoveYouAsma.
These photos stand in stark contrast to photos on news channels showing Syrian children lying dead on the streets, suffocating from poisonous gas that the US and its allies say was released by the dictator’s husband. be.
In May, Syrian authorities announced that Asma had been diagnosed with leukemia, forcing her to temporarily withdraw from public life.
Bashar’s office issued a statement at the time saying Asma had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and would “follow specialized treatment protocols, including strict infection precautions.”
Acute myeloid leukemia is an aggressive cancer of the bone marrow and blood.
Asma had previously undergone treatment for breast cancer.
Fox News Digital’s Timothy HJ Nerozzi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
