Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia over the weekend, ending a nearly 14-year struggle to maintain power in Syria’s civil war that has become a battleground for international and regional powers.
But Assad’s people know through the news that the war in Syria is not what he expected when he came to power.
take power
Assad’s father, Hafez Assad, has been grooming Bashar’s eldest brother, Basil, to be his successor. In 1994, Basil died in a car accident in Damascus. Bashar then returned home from an eye clinic in London and underwent military training, where he was promoted to the rank of colonel and qualified to one day rule Syria.
Hafez ruled Syria for nearly 30 years, during which time he established a Soviet-style centralized economy. He also aligned himself with Iran’s Shia clerical leadership, established Syrian rule over Lebanon, and established a network of Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups.
Netanyahu praises Syria’s “historic” fall of Bashar Assad, thanks to Israel’s attack on Iran’s Hezbollah
On September 23, 2023, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (middle) and his wife Asma al-Assad (left) attended the 2022 Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province Opening Ceremony. (Philippe Fung/AFP via Getty Images)
After Hafez’s death in 2000, the country’s parliament lowered the presidential age requirement from 40 to 34, and through a referendum, Bashar became the only candidate to become president.
Bashar initially seemed the polar opposite of his father. When Assad came to power, he spoke with a somewhat lisp, was tall, lanky, quiet, and had a gentle demeanor. His only official position before becoming president was that of president of the Syrian Computer Association, so he was remembered as a mild-mannered, tech-savvy computer geek.
Assad has also released political prisoners and allowed more open speech.
Islamist rebels conquer Syria, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad flees
FILE – This April 13, 2016 file photo posted on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidential Palace shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad voting in parliamentary elections in Damascus, Syria, with his wife Asma, left ) stood next to him. (Syrian President, AP, File)
Princess Diana of Syria?
A few months after taking office, Bashar married Asma al-Akhlas, a British-born woman known for her charm and style. The two eventually had three children.
The couple lives in an apartment in Damascus’s upscale Abu Brummane neighborhood rather than in a mansion like other Arab leaders.
Asma was born in Acton, west London, to a Sunni Muslim father in Homs, Syria, and has been called the Princess Diana of Syria.
Assad arrives in Moscow and receives Russian asylum
On May 25, 2023, Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad participated in the harvesting of Damascus roses in the village of al-Marah in the Damascus countryside. (LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)
She earned degrees in computer science and French literature from Queen’s College London and entered banking as a hedge fund analyst.
In 2000, she held a “secret” wedding with 35-year-old Bashar, and she was only 25 years old at the time.
As Assad continued to rule, things began to change.
change direction
Assad suffered a blow when Syria lost its decades-long control over neighboring Lebanon after former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in 2005. Many in Lebanon accused Assad of being behind the murder. Syria was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and a pro-American government came to power.
Meanwhile, the Arab world is divided between U.S. allies, including Sunni-led countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and Syria and Iran, with their ties to Hezbollah and Palestinian militants.
Trump urges us not to get involved in Syrian civil war, blames Obama for failing as Islamists close in on capital
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives in Jeddah for the second day of the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2023.
Assad appointed family members to key positions while also handing over delegated duties to Asma.
Rulers in Tunisia and Egypt were overthrown by protesters in 2011, but Assad denies that could happen in Syria as well.
His security forces have waged a brutal crackdown and Assad denies he faces a popular rebellion. Instead, he accused “foreign-backed terrorists” of trying to destabilize his regime.
The uprising escalated into a civil war, and millions of Syrians fled to Jordan, Türkiye, Iraq, Lebanon and Europe.
In March 2011, Vogue magazine published a profile on Asma, calling her a “rose in the desert” and “the freshest and most glamorous first lady.” The article, based on an interview in late 2010, described the Assad family as “deeply democratic” and portrayed them as progressive and intelligent. Assad’s bloody crackdown on Syrian dissidents has become a reality.
Anna Wintour, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, said: “At the end of our interview, and with the horrific events unfolding in Syria over the past year and a half, it was clear that the magazine’s priorities and values align with those of Vogue Completely inconsistent.
spendthrift
In 2012, WikiLeaks released the 42-year-old Briton’s private emails, which showed she spent $350,000 on 130 pieces of furniture as the British Civil War lasted a year.
Syria’s Islamist rebels were caught off guard by Assad, Putin and the Iranian regime, creating new headaches for us in the Middle East
Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad attends the graduation ceremony of future teachers of the Syrian Disability Organization in Damascus on December 3, 2018. (LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)
Released emails also reportedly show she purchased a pair of crystal-heeled shoes worth $7,000 and shipped the goods to Dubai to circumvent sanctions.
The couple’s ultra-modern presidential residence, commissioned in 1979 and designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, is believed 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 per tile. The total cost of a room is approximately $10.6 million.
On the same day her husband is believed to have gassed civilians with sarin in Khan Sheikhoun, Asma posted a photo of herself in a chic polka dot dress, looking thoughtful and smiling.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Asma’s social media posts portray her as a humanitarian, with photos of the first lady reading to children and hugging the families of Syrians killed in the country’s civil war — all with an affectionate message Hashtag #WeLoveYouAsma.
The photos contrast sharply with those on news channels showing Syrian children suffocated to death in the streets with poison gas that the United States and its allies say was unleashed by her dictator husband.
In May, Syrian officials 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 “comply with a specialized treatment regimen that includes strict infection prevention measures.”
Acute myeloid leukemia is an aggressive cancer of the bone marrow and blood.
Asma had previously been treated for breast cancer.
Fox News Digital’s Timothy HJ Nerozzi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
