Eldest son of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad
Bassel al-Assad
(
Arabic
:
??????? ?????????
,
romanized
:
B?sil al-?Asad
; 23 March 1962 – 21 January 1994) was a
Syrian
engineer, colonel, equestrian and politician who was the eldest son of
Syrian President
Hafez al-Assad
and the older brother of (later) President
Bashar al-Assad
. It was widely expected that he would succeed his father as President of Syria until he died in a car accident in 1994.
[1]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Bassel al-Assad was born on 23 March 1962.
He was trained as a civil engineer, and he held a
PhD
in
military sciences
.
[3]
[4]
He said about his childhood:
We saw father at home but he was so busy that three days could go by without us exchanging a word with him. We never had breakfast or dinner together, and I don't remember ever having lunch together as a family, or maybe we only did once or twice when state affairs were involved. As a family, we used to spend a day or two in
Lattakia
in the summer, but then too he used to work in the office and we didn't get to see much of him.
[5]
Career
[
edit
]
Trained in
parachuting
, he was commissioned in the
Special Forces
and later switched to the armoured corps after training in the
Soviet Military Academies
.
[4]
He rapidly progressed through the ranks, becoming a major and then commander of a brigade in the
Republican Guard
.
[6]
[7]
After his father recovered from a serious illness in 1984, Bassel began to accompany him and he emerged on the national scene in 1987, when he won several
equestrian
medals at a regional tournament.
[8]
[7]
The
Ba'ath Party
press in Syria eulogised him as the "Golden Knight" because of his prowess on horseback.
[9]
He also had a reputation for an interest in fast cars, and his friends described him as charismatic and commanding.
[10]
[11]
Assad was soon appointed Head of Presidential Security.
[12]
[13]
In addition, he launched the
Syrian Computer Society
in 1989, which was later headed by Bashar.
[14]
Originally Assad's uncle,
Rifaat al-Assad
, was Hafez's chosen successor but Rifaat attempted to usurp power from Hafez while the latter was in a coma in 1984. This led to Rifaat's exile.
[4]
Following the incident, Bassel was groomed to succeed his father.
[15]
[16]
Hafez's efforts intensified to make Bassel the next
President of Syria
in the early 1990s;
[4]
after Hafez's election victory in 1991, the President was publicly referred to as "Abu Basil" (Father of Bassel).
[17]
Assad was also being introduced to European and Arab leaders; he was a close friend of the children of
King Hussein of Jordan
, especially
Haya bint Hussein
who also enjoyed equestrianism,
[18]
and had been also introduced to
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia
.
[9]
Assad had a significant role in Lebanese affairs, and was known to Lebanese leaders of all sects.
[
citation needed
]
He organised a highly publicised anti-corruption campaign within the government and frequently appeared in full military uniform at official receptions to signal the government's commitment to the armed forces.
[10]
Former
CIA
director
Michael Hayden
has compared Bassel to
Sonny Corleone
in the novel
The Godfather
. "There is no doubt the Assads, along with the Makhloufs who are tied to them in bonds of marriage and partnerships, were just as busy with crime and committing particularly cruel acts as they were with ruling over Syria."
[19]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Aside from his native
Arabic
, Bassel is said to have spoken
French
and
Russian
fluently.
[9]
According to
leaked United States diplomatic cables
, he had a relationship with a Lebanese woman, Siham Asseily
[20]
who later married Lebanese journalist and deputy
Gebran Tueni
.
[
citation needed
]
His older sister,
Bushra
, could not marry
Assef Shawkat
until his death, as he rejected that marriage.
[
citation needed
]
Death
[
edit
]
On 21 January 1994, while he was driving his luxury
Mercedes
at a high speed (author
Paul Theroux
reports Bassel was driving at 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph) 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),
[21]
[22]
[23]
Bassel collided with a barrier and, not wearing a
seatbelt
, died instantly.
[10]
[24]
Hafez Makhlouf
was with him and was hospitalized with injuries after the accident, and a chauffeur in the back seat was unhurt.
[24]
[10]
Assad's body was taken to
Al Assad University Hospital
and then buried in
Qardaha
, where his father's body was also later buried.
[22]
[25]
Legacy
[
edit
]
After his death, shops, schools and public offices in Syria closed, and the sale of alcohol was suspended in respect.
[7]
He was elevated by the state into "the martyr of the country, the martyr of the nation and the symbol for its youth".
[7]
A great number of squares and streets were named after him. The new international swimming complex, various hospitals, sporting clubs and a military academy were named after him. The international airport in
Latakia
was named after him,
Bassel Al-Assad International Airport
. His statue is found in several Syrian cities, and even after his death, he is often pictured on
billboards
with his father and brother.
[7]
He also has an equestrian statue in
Aleppo
,
[26]
and formerly in
Chtaura
, Lebanon.
[27]
On 17 November 2020, a museum dedicated to him was inaugurated at the
Latakia Sports City
.
[28]
Bassel Assad's death led to his lesser-known brother
Bashar al-Assad
, who was then undertaking postgraduate training in
ophthalmology
in
London
, assuming the mantle of president-in-waiting. Bashar became President following the
death of his father
, on 10 June 2000.
[29]
[30]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Bashar al-Assad: behind the mask"
.
Financial Times
. 15 June 2012.
Archived
from the original on 11 December 2022
. Retrieved
5 June
2022
.
- ^
"Assad son dies in car accident"
.
Rome News Tribune
. 21 June 1994
. Retrieved
13 July
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Ghadbian, Najib (Autumn 2001).
"The New Asad: Dynamics of Continuity and Change in Syria"
(PDF)
.
Middle East Journal
.
55
(4). Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 12 December 2018
. Retrieved
19 August
2013
.
- ^
in conversation with
Patrick Seale
, 1988
"Mid-East Realities"
.
Middle East
. 11 June 2000
. Retrieved
9 March
2013
.
- ^
Zisser, Eyal (September 1995).
"The Succession Struggle in Damascus"
.
Middle East Forum
.
2
(3): 57?64
. Retrieved
14 July
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Sipress, Alan (8 November 1996).
"Syria Creates Cult Around Its President's Dead Son Bassel Assad"
.
Inquirer
. Retrieved
13 July
2012
.
- ^
Kathy A. Zahler (1 August 2009).
The Assads' Syria
. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 71.
ISBN
978-0-8225-9095-8
. Retrieved
12 March
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
Fisk, Robert (22 January 1994).
"Syria mourns death of a 'golden son'
"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
13 June
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Schmidt, William E. (22 January 1994).
"Assad's Son Killed in Auto Crash"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
27 August
2013
.
- ^
Bennet, James (10 July 2005).
"The Enigma of Damascus"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
21 July
2012
.
- ^
Boustany, Nora (22 January 1994).
"Car crash kills Assad's son"
.
The Daily Gazette
. Retrieved
24 March
2013
.
- ^
Edwards, Alex (July?August 2012).
"Understanding Dictators"
(PDF)
.
The Majalla
.
1574
: 32?37. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 30 July 2013
. Retrieved
4 April
2013
.
- ^
Alterman, Jon B. (1998).
"New Media New Politics?"
(PDF)
.
The Washington Institute
.
48
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 13 May 2013
. Retrieved
7 April
2013
.
- ^
Brownlee, Jason (Fall 2007).
"The Heir Apparency of Gamal Mubarak"
(PDF)
.
Arab Studies Journal
: 36?56. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 4 April 2012
. Retrieved
2 March
2013
.
- ^
Hemmer, Christopher (n.d.).
Syria Under Bashar Asad: Clinging To His Roots?
(PDF)
. CPC. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 5 October 2018
. Retrieved
13 March
2013
.
- ^
Cook, Steven A. (December 1996).
"On the Road: In Asad's Damascus"
.
Middle East Quarterly
: 39?43
. Retrieved
24 March
2013
.
- ^
"Basel al-Assad with Princess Haya of Jordan in an equestrian tournament - 1993"
.
Syrian History
.
- ^
Ronen Bergman (30 December 2016).
"Ex-CIA director: I was sure if we didn't strike Syria's nuclear reactor, Israel would"
.
Yedioth Ahronoth
.
Archived
from the original on 31 December 2016.
- ^
"Biography; from wiki (Gebran Tueni) ref for 'His second spouse was Siham Asseily'
"
. Naharnet. Archived from
the original
on 7 June 2012
. Retrieved
10 June
2012
.
- ^
Theroux, Paul (1996).
The Pillars of Hercules, page 416
.
ISBN
978-0-14-025314-6
.
- ^
a
b
Bell, Don (November 2009).
"Shadowland"
.
National Geographic
. Archived from
the original
on 27 October 2009
. Retrieved
9 March
2013
.
- ^
"Basil Assad killed in car crash"
.
The Press Courier
. 21 January 1994
. Retrieved
27 August
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Sipress, Alan (22 January 1994).
"Assad's Son is Killed in a Car"
.
Inquirer
. Retrieved
27 August
2013
.
- ^
"Hafez Al Assad passes away"
.
Ain al Yaqeen
. 16 June 2000. Archived from
the original
on 2 May 2014
. Retrieved
9 March
2013
.
- ^
"Bassel al-Assad in Syria"
.
Equestrian Statue
. 6 April 2016.
- ^
"Bassel al-Assad in Lebanon"
.
Equestrian Statue
. 6 April 2016.
- ^
"?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ?????????"
.
SANA
(in Arabic). 17 November 2020.
- ^
Zisser, Eyal (June 2006).
"What does the future hold for Syria?"
(PDF)
.
MERIA
.
10
(2). Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 20 March 2014
. Retrieved
14 July
2012
.
- ^
"Nepotism, cronyism, and weakness in Arabdom"
.
MER
. 7 September 1998
. Retrieved
13 July
2012
.
External links
[
edit
]