Bashar al assad education

President of Syria from to

In this Arabic name, the surname is Assad.

Bashar al-Assad (born 11&#;September ) is a Syrian politician, military officer and dictator who served as the president of Syria from until his government was overthrown in the Syrian Revolution in As president, Assad was commander-in-chief of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He is the son of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria from until his death in

In the s, Assad became a doctor, and in the early s he was training in London as an ophthalmologist. In , after his elder brother Bassel al-Assad died in a car crash, Assad was recalled to Syria to take over Bassel's role as heir apparent. Assad entered the military academy and in took charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon begun by his father. On 17 July , Assad became president, succeeding his father, who had died on 10 June Many hoped the UK-educated young man would bring reform to Syria and relax the occupation of Lebanon. These hopes were dashed following a series of crackdowns in – that ended the Damascus Spring, a period defined by calls for transparency and democracy. Bashar's rule would become more repressive than his father's.

Assad's regime was a highly personalist dictatorship which governed Syria as a totalitarianpolice state that committed systemic human rights violations and war crimes, making it one of the most repressive regimes in modern times. The regime consistently ranked as the 'worst of the worst' within Freedom House indexes. His first decade in power was marked by extensive censorship, summary executions, forced disappearances, discrimination of ethnic minorities and extensive surveillance by the Ba'athist secret police. While the Assad government described itself as secular, various political scientists and observ

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad inherited power in July , a month after his father, military strongman Hafez al-Assad died.

But since March , his rule over Syria has been under threat, with the country beset by violence that has killed an estimated , people and embroiled regional and world powers in the never-ending horror.

Despite Western and Arab countries backing the opposition, Assad has survived seven years of war and refuses to step aside.

But who is he? This is what we know:

Medical student

• Ruling family: Born on September 11, , Bashar al-Assad is the second son of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, and his wife Anisa.
• His father, Hafez, rose to power through the Syrian military and the minority Alawite political party before taking control of Syria in
• Studies: Bashar al-Assad was educated at the Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus where he learned to speak English and French fluently.
• He graduated from school in and continued studying medicine at the University of Damascus, graduating in
• UK: He went to London in to the Western Eye Hospital to further his studies, at this time, the ruler was leading the life of a medical student and had no ambitions to start a political career.

Road to the presidency

• Brother’s death: At the age of 29, Assad was forced to return to Damascus from London after his older brother Basil – who was initially groomed for the presidency – died in a car crash in , at the age of
• He entered the military academy at Homs, located in North Damascus, and was quickly pushed through the ranks and became a lieutenant-colonel in five years. He was then promoted to colonel in January
• During this time, he also served as an adviser to his father hearing appeals from citizens and led a campaign against corruption.
• Father’s death: When Hafez al-Assad died on June 10, , the Syrian parliament quickly voted to lower the minimum age for presidential candid

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of the Syrian Arab Republic and leader of the Socialist Ba’ath Party. He is a member of the minority Alawite sect of Islam.

Assad was born on September 11, , in Damascus. When Bashar was only five years old, his father, Hafez al-Assad, took control of the Ba’ath Party in the revolution, eventually leading to him being elected president that same year.

Bashar received his primary and secondary education in the Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus, graduating in He then studied medicine at the University of Damascus and graduated as a physician specializing in ophthalmology in He went to Britain in to continue his specialization and returned to Syria two years later. Bashar was thrown into politics in by the death of his older brother Basil (in a car crash), who was being groomed for the presidency. He subsequently joined the military and was promoted to colonel in January

Immediately following his father’s death on June 10, , the Syrian parliament amended the constitution, reducing the mandatory minimum age of the president from 40 to 34 so Bashar would be legally eligible for nomination by the ruling Ba’ath Party. On July 10, , running unopposed, Bashar was elected to a 7-year term as president by referendum with % of the vote, according to Syrian government statistics.

In , Assad was blamed for assassinating Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon, because of Hariri’s opposition to Syrian interference in his country.

On May 27, , Assad was reaffirmed by referendum for a second 7-year term with % of the vote. The same year, Israel destroyed a nuclear reactor Syria was constructing to manufacture nuclear weapons.

In March , widespread discontent with the Ba’athist government led to large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. Numerous protests were violently suppressed by security forces in deadly crackdowns