Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: حافظ الأسد Ḥāfiẓ al-Asad) (October 6, 1930 – June 10, 2000) was the president of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule stabilized and consolidated the power of the country's central government after decades of coups and counter-coups. He was succeeded by his son and current president Bashar al-Assad in 2000.
Hafez al-Assad was born in the town of Qardaha in the Latakia province of western Syria (then a French Mandate) int...
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Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: حافظ الأسد Ḥāfiẓ al-Asad) (October 6, 1930 – June 10, 2000) was the president of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule stabilized and consolidated the power of the country's central government after decades of coups and counter-coups. He was succeeded by his son and current president Bashar al-Assad in 2000.
Hafez al-Assad was born in the town of Qardaha in the Latakia province of western Syria (then a French Mandate) into a minority Alawite family. He was the first member of his family to attend high school. Some say his family's name was Wa'hish (or Beast in Arabic) and they changed the family name. He attended Jules Jammal High School in Lattakia from which he graduated. He joined the Baath Party in 1946 at the age of 16. Because his family had no money to send him to university, Assad went to the Syrian Military Academy (where he met Mustafa Tlass) and received a free higher education. He showed considerable talent and the military sent him for additional...
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