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Bassel al-Assad

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In this Arabic name, the surname is Assad.

Bassel al-Assad
بَاسِلُ ٱلْأَسَدِ
Al-Assad, c. 1994
Born(1962-03-23)23 March 1962
Damascus, Syrian Republic
Died21 January 1994(1994-01-21) (aged 31)
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
Resting placeQardaha, Syria
35°27′34″N 36°03′26″E / 35.45944°N 36.05722°E / 35.45944; 36.05722
Other namesThe Golden Knight
Parents
FamilyAl-Assad family
Military career
Allegiance Syrian Arab Republic
Service / branch
Years of service1980–1994
RankColonel
Unit14th Special Forces Division
Republican Guard
Commands42nd Special Forces Regiment
12th Armoured Battalion
Awards
  • Hero of the Republic
  • Order of Saladin

Bassel al-Assad (Arabic: بَاسِلُ ٱلْأَسَدِ, romanized: Bāsil al-ʾAsad; 23 March 1962 – 21 January 1994) was a Syrian military officer, engineer and politician. He was the eldest son of the 18th Syrian president Hafez al-Assad. He was expected to succeed his father as president until his death in a car crash in January 1994.[1] After his death, his younger brother Bashar, became heir apparent to the Syrian presidency and ultimately succeeded their father upon his death.

Early life

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Al-Assad in the early 1970s

Bassel al-Assad was born on 23 March 1962 in the national capital city of Damascus, in the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria), into an Alawite family.[2] He was the son of Hafez al-Assad, and Anisa Makhlouf. He had an older sister named Bushra and three brothers named Bashar, Majd, and Maher.

He was trained as a civil engineer, and 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 Latakia 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

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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 was rapidly promoted, 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] Bassel also imprisoned a rival equestrian competitor, Adnan Qassar, in 1993 (Qassar was released in 2014).[10] He also had a reputation for an interest in fast cars, and his friends described him as charismatic and commanding.[11][12] Assad was soon appointed Head of Presidential Security.[13][14] In addition in 1989 he launched the Syrian Computer Society, which was later headed by Bashar.[15]

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.[16][17] 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).[18] Bassel 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,[19] 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.[20] 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.[11]

Personal life

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Aside from his native Arabic, Bassel was said to be fluent in French and Russian.[9] According to leaked United States diplomatic cables, he had a relationship with a Lebanese woman, Siham Asseily,[21] who later married Lebanese journalist and deputy Gebran Tueni.[22]

Death

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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),[23][24][25] The car collided with a barrier and, Bassel not wearing a seatbelt, died instantly.[11][26] Hafez Makhlouf was with him and was hospitalized with injuries after the accident; a chauffeur in the back seat was unhurt.[26][11]

Assad's body was taken to Al-Asad University Hospital and then buried in a mausoleum in Qardaha, where his father's body was also later buried.[24][27]

On 11 December 2024, his tomb was destroyed by rebel fighters following the overthrow of his brother Bashar in the Syrian civil war.[28]

Aftermath

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Bassel Assad's death led to his less-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 and would hold the post for 24 years until the collapse of the Ba'athist regime in December 2024.[29][30]

Legacy

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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, the new international swimming complex, various hospitals, sporting clubs and a military academy were named after him. The international airport in Latakia was named Bassel Al-Assad International Airport. His statue is found in several Syrian cities, and even after his death, he was often depicted on billboards with his father and brother.[7] He also had an equestrian statue in Aleppo,[31] until December 2024 when it was toppled by rebels,[32] and formerly in Chtaura, Lebanon.[33]

On 17 November 2020, a museum dedicated to him was inaugurated at the Latakia Sports City.[34]

References

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  1. ^ "Bashar al-Assad: behind the mask". Financial Times. 15 June 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  2. ^ Zisser 1995.
  3. ^ "Assad son dies in car accident". Rome News Tribune. 21 June 1994. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Ghadbian, Najib (Autumn 2001). "The New Asad: Dynamics of Continuity and Change in Syria" (PDF). Middle East Journal. 55 (4): 624–641. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018.
  5. ^ in conversation with Patrick Seale, 1988"Mid-East Realities". Middle East. 11 June 2000. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  6. ^ Zisser, Eyal (September 1995). "The Succession Struggle in Damascus". Middle East Forum. 2 (3): 57–64. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e Sipress, Alan (8 November 1996). "Syria Creates Cult Around Its President's Dead Son Bassel Assad". Inquirer. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c Fisk, Robert (22 January 1994). "Syria mourns death of a 'golden son'". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  10. ^ The Syrian Observer (17 June 2014). "Captain Adnan Kassar, Arrested For Beating Basel Assad in Race, Released - The Syrian Observer". The Syrian Observer. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d Schmidt, William E. (22 January 1994). "Assad's Son Killed in Auto Crash". New York Times. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  12. ^ Bennet, James (10 July 2005). "The Enigma of Damascus" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  13. ^ Boustany, Nora (22 January 1994). "Car crash kills Assad's son". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Hemmer, Christopher (23 February 2004). Syria Under Bashar Asad: Clinging To His Roots? (PDF). CPC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  18. ^ Cook, Steven A. (December 1996). "On the Road: In Asad's Damascus". Middle East Quarterly: 39–43. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  19. ^ "Basel al-Assad with Princess Haya of Jordan in an equestrian tournament - 1993". Syrian History.
  20. ^ Hage Ali, Mohanad (29 March 2019). "Power Points Defining the Syria-Hezbollah Relationship". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ "Gebran Tueni Biography". 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  23. ^ Theroux, Paul (1996). The Pillars of Hercules, page 416. Penguin books. ISBN 978-0-14-025314-6.
  24. ^ a b Bell, Don (November 2009). "Shadowland". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  25. ^ "Basil Assad killed in car crash". The Press Courier. 21 January 1994. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  26. ^ a b Sipress, Alan (22 January 1994). "Assad's Son is Killed in a Car". Inquirer. Archived from the original on 30 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  27. ^ "Hafez Al Assad passes away". Ain al Yaqeen. 16 June 2000. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  28. ^ Lukiv, Jaroslav; Asaf, Seher (11 December 2024). "Syria rebels burn tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez". BBC News. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ "Nepotism, cronyism, and weakness in Arabdom". MER. 7 September 1998. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  31. ^ "Bassel al-Assad in Syria". Equestrian Statue. 6 April 2016.
  32. ^ Mata, William (16 December 2024). "Syrian rebels seize half of Aleppo in surprise offensive against Assad regime". Evening Standard – via MSN.
  33. ^ "Bassel al-Assad in Lebanon". Equestrian Statue. 6 April 2016.
  34. ^ "افتتاح متحف الشهيد الفارس الذهبي باسل الأسد في المدينة الرياضية باللاذقية". SANA (in Arabic). 17 November 2020.
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