Assad, Maher

Personal life

Maher al-Assad is the youngest of the four sons of the Syrian statesman Hafez al-Assad , who two years after the birth of Maher became the head of Syria . Maher's mother is Anisa Mahlouf . Like all children of Hafez al-Assad , Maher grew up far from public attention. He graduated from the same school as all his siblings (Academy of Freedom School, later renamed in honor of Basil al-Assad ). He studied mechanical engineering and entrepreneurship at the University of Damascus , after graduating from the university received a military education ^[5] . Married to Manal al-Jadaan (originally from the province of Deir ez-Zor , by religion - Muslim - Sunni ^[6] ), father of two children. He is fond of kickboxing and other martial arts .

An extreme temper is considered a distinctive feature of character: in 1994, Maher was a member of a serious quarrel with his cousin Ribal al-Assad ; a few years later, in October 1999, Maher had a serious quarrel with his son-in-law Asef Shaukat (Shaukat is married to Maher’s sister Bushra al-Assad ^[7] ) as a result of which, according to the conspiracy version of opponents of the Assad regime, Maher shot the enemy in the stomach ^{[ 5]} , however, in the official biography of Shaukat (died in the 2012 terrorist attack) there is no mention of a wound in 2009. Although it is worth noting that the relationship between Maher al-Assad and Asef Shaukat was always extremely tense ^[8] , which, probably, served as the basis for the fiction of conspiracy theorists.

He began a military career with the rank of lieutenant of engineering troops ^[9] . After the death of Basil al-Assad’s elder brother in a car accident, many began to consider Maher as the heir to his father, since one of his older brothers, Majid al-Assad, suffered, according to various sources, either mental or mental disabilities ^[10] , and another - Bashar , according to many, did not possess the qualities necessary for governing the country. In 1996, Maher al-Assad took command of the Republican Guard brigade. Shortly after the death of Hafez al-Assad in 2000, Maher was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and also joined the Ba'ath party and became a member of the Central Committee - the second most important party organ ^[11] .

Maher is a member of the so-called "inner circle" of Bashar al-Assad (along with him, Asef Shaukat , Rami Mahluf , Ali Habib and others are usually mentioned), is considered one of the closest advisers to Bashar al-Assad . Maher al-Assad is one of the largest businessmen in the country, in particular, he has several business projects in Lebanon together with his cousin Rami Mahluf ^[12] . According to other sources, Maher al-Assad and Rami Mahluf moved their business center to Dubai ^[13] .

It is believed that in 2003, Maher al-Assad held a series of meetings with representatives of Israel in Jordan , the reason for which was the possible resumption of peace negotiations between Syria and Israel ^[14] .

As a result of the explosion in Damascus on July 18, 2012, Maher al-Assad may have lost his leg ^[15] . This information has been refuted by the Russian media ^{[16] [ specify ]} .

In July 2013, a report from pro-government sites claimed that Maher commanded government forces fighting in Aleppo and Homs . ^[17]

In March 2016, it became known that Maher was promoted from brigadier general to major general. According to sources in the SAA , General Maher Asad was promoted in the rank last year, but the decision officially entered into force only in March ^[1] .

Rumor has it that Maher’s relationship with his brother Bashar is not as smooth as it seems at first glance, and that Maher made attempts to take power in the country into his own hands ^[5] .

It is believed that it was Maher al-Assad who insisted on stopping the liberalization of the political and social life of Syria , which was launched by Bashar al-Assad immediately after coming to power ^[7] .

It is also believed that Maher al-Assad conducts shadow transactions, using other businessmen as “cover”, among which are, for example, Khalid Kaddur and Muhammad Hamsho ^[11] .

In 2005, Maher al-Assad, together with Asef Shaukat, was mentioned in the preliminary report of the UN commission to investigate the murder of Rafik Hariri as one of the possible organizers of the crime ^[7] .

There are references to the existence of Maher al-Assad’s own security service, headed by Colonel Gassan Bilal, and “his own” prison, headed by his cousin, head of the military police, Hilal al-Assad ^[18] .

Maher al-Assad is also often named among the main culprits of the bloodshed during the uprising in Syria in 2011 ^{[7] [19]} . It is believed that one of the leading roles in suppressing the uprisings (in particular, in Dar'a ) was played by the 4th mechanized division, which is directly subordinate to Maher al-Assad, whose parts are housed in the Golan Heights and near Damascus ^[7] . On April 27, 2011, the US government imposed sanctions on the property of Maher al-Assad in connection with his activities in suppressing the uprising in Syria ^[20] . On May 23, 2011, the European Union, for the same reasons, also imposed a series of sanctions on Maher al-Assad; at the same time, in the official documents of the EU, Maher al-Assad is called "the main implementer of repression against demonstrators" ^[21] .

• Hafez al-Assad
• Bashar al-Assad
• Syrian Civil War

• Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, Maher Assad
• Biography for Maher Hafez al-Assad (link not available)
• Biography of Maher al-Assad (inaccessible link) (ar.)