For more than a decade, the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria has weathered the storm of a brutal civil war with the help of powerful allies like Russia and Iran. Despite chaos across the country, the 59-year-old Syrian president appeared to have a firm grip on power. Yet, like the slogan “Our leader forever” during the reign of his father Hafez al-Assad, the idea of eternal rule was always fragile.
When the Arab Spring began in 2011, which overthrew regimes across the region, many predicted the end of the Assad dynasty. Protests in Syria quickly escalated into civil war, challenging Assad’s grip on power. His regime survived due to the intervention of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. Over the years, the Syrian government captured key areas, while the opposition remained divided.
The situation has changed rapidly in the last few days. This week, opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – formerly an affiliate of al-Qaeda – launched an offensive that rapidly advanced into northern Syria and captured large swaths of territory, including parts of Aleppo.
Who is Bashar al-Assad?
Bashar al-Assad has been Syria’s president since 2000, following the death of his father Hafez al-Assad, who ruled the country for nearly 30 years.
Early life and education
Born on September 11, 1965, in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad is a military officer and the second son of Baath Party leader Hafez al-Assad, who became president after a 1971 coup. The Assad family belongs to a Syrian minority that makes up about 10 percent of the population but has had a prominent role in politics since the 1960s.
Bashar al-Assad attended school in Damascus where he learned English and French. He earned a medical degree in ophthalmology from Damascus University in 1988. He served as an army doctor before moving to London in 1992 to continue his studies.
entry into politics
In 1994, Bashar al-Assad’s older brother Basil, considered his father’s successor, died in a car accident. With no political or military experience, 29-year-old Bashar al-Assad was summoned to Syria and groomed to take his brother’s place. He trained at a military academy and earned the rank of colonel in the Republican Guard.
He led an anti-corruption campaign that removed many officials, although it left senior members of the regime untouched. Establishing himself as a modernizer, he was also appointed president of the Syrian Computer Society.
Presidency
When Hafez al-Assad died on June 10, 2000, the Syrian parliament swiftly amended the constitution to lower the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 to 34, allowing his son Bashar al-Assad to inherit the office. Was made eligible for. He officially took office on 11 July 2000 and became leader of the Ba’ath Party and commander-in-chief of the army.
He was elected President with more than 97 percent of the votes. In his inaugural speech, he rejected Western-style democracy as a model for Syria. Although many Syrians were uneasy about the transfer of power from father to son, Bashar al-Assad’s youth, education, and Western experience raised hope for change. However, his regime largely maintained the same authoritarian practices, with a heavily policed state and a struggling economy dependent on dwindling oil resources.
He maintained his father’s hardline stance on Syria’s conflict with Israel and opposed the US invasion of Iraq, using anti-Western rhetoric.
By 2005, Bashar al-Assad sidelined his father’s allies and replaced them with younger faces, often family members.
Following the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, Assad withdrew Syrian troops from Lebanon under international pressure, although Syrian involvement in the assassination was never conclusively proven.
In 2007, Assad was re-elected in a widely criticized election and sought to improve relations with regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, although Syria remained largely isolated.
tensions with lebanon
Bashar al-Assad faces unstable relations with Israel, deteriorating relations with Lebanon and tensions with Turkey over water rights.
In 2000, he began withdrawing Syrian troops from Lebanon who had been in the country since 1976. Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976 during the Lebanese Civil War.
The process of withdrawing troops gained momentum when Syria was accused of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Hariri’s death led to a public uprising in Lebanon and international pressure on Syria to withdraw its troops. Assad denied any involvement, saying that if Syrians were found responsible, they would be considered traitors and face legal consequences. CNN quoted him as saying, “If the UN investigation concludes that Syrians were involved, those involved will be treated as treasonable, charged with treason and face the international court or the Syrian judicial process.” “
The reaction in Lebanon led to thousands of people protesting in Beirut demanding an end to Syrian influence. On 26 April 2005, Syria withdrew its last troops from Lebanon.
2011 civil unrest in Syria
In March 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring, mass protests broke out in Syria. Bashar al-Assad initially offered reforms such as ending emergency laws and releasing political prisoners, but violence against protesters increased. The government deployed troops and tanks, while Assad claimed Syria was the victim of an international conspiracy. By September 2011, armed opposition groups gained momentum, leading to full civil war by mid-2012.
In July 2012, Assad’s inner circle suffered a major blow when a bombing killed several senior officials. As the war intensified, both sides received support from international allies.
In August 2013, hundreds of people were killed in attacks involving chemical weapons near Damascus, leading to calls for international military action. An agreement between the US, Russia and Syria placed Syria’s chemical weapons under international control to avoid military intervention. Despite this, Assad’s forces continued to use indiscriminate weapons such as barrel bombs in rebel-held areas.
As the war progressed, Assad’s grip on power grew stronger. The rise of ISIS in 2013 refocused international efforts, including the US, on defeating the extremist group. Russia’s military intervention in 2015 also strengthened Assad’s position. By 2017, Assad regained control of most major cities, with remaining rebels confined to parts of the region.
In 2018, Assad’s forces advanced into Idlib, where Turkish forces had intervened to protect rebel-held areas. As the conflict neared an end, Assad began rebuilding Syria through infrastructure projects and attracting foreign investment. One controversial measure, Law 10, allowed the government to seize property from displaced Syrians, making it possible to redistribute it to loyalists.
controversies
Civilian deaths: In the early months of the Syrian protests in 2011, civilian deaths increased and refugees fled to neighboring countries. In December 2011, when Assad was asked about the government’s violent crackdown on protesters, he denied responsibility and claimed that he had not ordered security forces to kill or take brutal action. He claimed that they were not his armies and suggested that no government deliberately kills its own people unless it was led by a “madman”.
2014 elections: Elections called by Bashar al-Assad in June 2014 were widely considered a sham. Voting was allowed only in government-controlled areas, except for large parts of rebel-held northern and eastern Syria. Assad’s campaign slogan was “Sawa”, meaning “together”, but he made no public appearances to discuss his plans. He claimed 88 percent votes. His position was strengthened when Russia agreed to support his forces militarily in September 2014. By February 2016, the conflict had killed approximately 4.7 lakh people and led to a refugee crisis.
Chemical Weapons: In August 2013, the Assad regime faced international condemnation for using chemical weapons against civilians. Despite global outrage, Assad managed to avoid foreign intervention with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who helped remove Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. As of 2013, more than 70,000 people had died since 2011. In April 2017, following a new chemical weapons attack, then-US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on Syrian airbases, prompting a strong response from Assad and his allies, Russia and Iran. In April 2018, another chemical weapons attack led to international condemnation. Trump called Assad an “animal” and criticized Putin. America, along with Britain and France, carried out air strikes on Syria in 2018.
