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Hafez Al-Assad
World Leader
    (October 6, 1930-June 10, 2000)
    Born in Qardaha, Syria
    Belongs to Alawite Muslim religious group
    Graduated from Jules Jammal High School, Lattakia
    Joined Baath Party at the age of 16 (1946)
    Attended Homs Military Academy and graduated from there (1951-1956)
    Head of the Syrian Air Force (1964)
    Air Force Commander (1965)
    Defense Minister (1966)
    Prime Minister of Syria (November 21, 1970-April 3, 1971)
    President of Syria (February 22, 1971-June 10, 2000)
    Died in Damascus, Syria
    His head was shaped like a deformed acorn.
    He was an ally of the Soviet Union for most of his rule.
    His relations with Israel were extremely tense up to the point that he preferred to call it ‘Zionist Entity’.
    Even though they belonged to the Baath Party, his relations with Saddam Hussein were tense.
    He installed a dictatorship in Syria inherited from previous governments.
    He set up a personality cult that depicted himself as a benevolent ruler of Syria and the Arab world.
    He bribed and mildly threatened people to support his rule.
    He had statues of himself built all over Syria.
    He allegedly pumped money to radical Muslim terrorist groups.
    The peacekeeping troops he sent to Lebanon ended up occupying the country (1976).
    He used propaganda extensively in order to assert his rule.
    Some of his supporters got rich through nepotism.
    His economic policies weren’t very successful and Syria still had modest economic gains.
    His negotiations with Israel over the Golan Heights failed.
    When assassinations of Syria's military elite by a radical group called the Muslim Brotherhood occurred in the city of Aleppo, he razed half of the city, killing as many as 200,000 innocent people.
    His presidency turned Syria into a stable country after decades of coups wrought havoc in the country.
    His son and potential successor, Basil, was killed in a car crash (1994).
    He became more pro-Western as he was nearing the end of his life.
    He even gradually improved ties with Israel during the mid-1990’s.
    His secular government had support from religious minorities fearing persecution if a non-secular government took control of Syria.
    His regime was considerably less fearsome than Saddam Hussein’s in Iraq.
    He had a heart attack (1983).
    He was the first member of his family to go to high school.
    The Syrian military, upon realizing his talent for warfare, sent him to the Soviet Union to get additional training.
    Interestingly, the propaganda united all Syrians together as one nation.
    Unlike many of his supporters, he lived a simple lifestyle.
    He was a hardworking man.
    He fought against Iraq during the Persian Gulf War.
    He died of a heart attack.

Credit: Big Lenny

    For 2019, as of last week, Out of 78 Votes: 52.56% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 28 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 74 Votes: 85.14% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 277 Votes: 54.51% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 59 Votes: 57.63% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 160 Votes: 80.62% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 36 Votes: 69.44% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 96 Votes: 65.62% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 66 Votes: 65.15% Annoying
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