Bassel al-Assad
Bassel al-Assad بَاسِلُ ٱلْأَسَدِ | |
---|---|
Native name | بَاسِلُ ٱلْأَسَدِ |
Nickname(s) | The Golden Knight |
Born | 23 March 1962 Damascus, Syria |
Died | 21 January 1994 Damascus, Syria | (aged 31)
Allegiance | Syria |
Service | Syrian Arab Army |
Years of service | 1980–1994 |
Rank | Colonel |
Unit | 2nd Special Forces Regiment, 14th Airborne Division Republican Guard |
Commands | 42nd Special Forces Regiment 12th Armoured Battalion, Syrian Arab Republican Guard. |
Awards | Hero of the Republic Order of Salahaddin |
Relations | al-Assad family |
Bassel al-Assad (Arabic: بَاسِلُ ٱلْأَسَدِ, romanized: Bāsil al-ʾAsad; 23 March 1962 – 21 January 1994) was a Syrian engineer, colonel, equestrian and politician who was the eldest son of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and the older brother of (later) President Bashar al-Assad. It was widely expected that he would succeed his father as President of Syria until he died in a car crash in 1994.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Bassel al-Assad was born on 23 March 1962.[2] 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 Lattakia 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
[edit]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 rapidly rose through the ranks, 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] He also had a reputation for an interest in fast cars, and his friends described him as charismatic and commanding.[10][11] Assad was soon appointed Head of Presidential Security.[12][13] In addition, he launched the Syrian Computer Society in 1989, which was later headed by Bashar.[14]
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.[15][16] 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).[17] 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,[18] 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.[citation needed] 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.[10]
Personal life
[edit]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,[19] who later married Lebanese journalist and deputy Gebran Tueni.[20]
Death
[edit]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),[21][22][23] Bassel collided with a barrier and, not wearing a seatbelt, died instantly.[10][24] Hafez Makhlouf was with him and was hospitalized with injuries after the accident; a chauffeur in the back seat was unhurt.[24][10]
Assad's body was taken to Al Assad University Hospital and then buried in Qardaha, where his father's body was also later buried.[22][25]
Legacy
[edit]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 were named after him. The new international swimming complex, various hospitals, sporting clubs and a military academy were named after him. The international airport in Latakia was named after him, Bassel Al-Assad International Airport. His statue is found in several Syrian cities, and even after his death, he is often pictured on billboards with his father and brother.[7] He also has an equestrian statue in Aleppo,[26] and formerly in Chtaura, Lebanon.[27]
On 17 November 2020, a museum dedicated to him was inaugurated at the Latakia Sports City.[28]
Bassel Assad's death led to his lesser-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.[29][30]
References
[edit]- ^ "Bashar al-Assad: behind the mask". Financial Times. 15 June 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ Zisser 1995.
- ^ "Assad son dies in car accident". Rome News Tribune. 21 June 1994. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d Ghadbian, Najib (Autumn 2001). "The New Asad: Dynamics of Continuity and Change in Syria" (PDF). Middle East Journal. 55 (4). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ in conversation with Patrick Seale, 1988"Mid-East Realities". Middle East. 11 June 2000. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ Zisser, Eyal (September 1995). "The Succession Struggle in Damascus". Middle East Forum. 2 (3): 57–64. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Fisk, Robert (22 January 1994). "Syria mourns death of a 'golden son'". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d Schmidt, William E. (22 January 1994). "Assad's Son Killed in Auto Crash". New York Times. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ Bennet, James (10 July 2005). "The Enigma of Damascus" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ Boustany, Nora (22 January 1994). "Car crash kills Assad's son". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Hemmer, Christopher (n.d.). Syria Under Bashar Asad: Clinging To His Roots? (PDF). CPC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ^ Cook, Steven A. (December 1996). "On the Road: In Asad's Damascus". Middle East Quarterly: 39–43. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Basel al-Assad with Princess Haya of Jordan in an equestrian tournament - 1993". Syrian History.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Gebran Tueni Biography". 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ Theroux, Paul (1996). The Pillars of Hercules, page 416. ISBN 978-0-14-025314-6.
- ^ a b Bell, Don (November 2009). "Shadowland". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ "Basil Assad killed in car crash". The Press Courier. 21 January 1994. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Hafez Al Assad passes away". Ain al Yaqeen. 16 June 2000. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ "Bassel al-Assad in Syria". Equestrian Statue. 6 April 2016.
- ^ "Bassel al-Assad in Lebanon". Equestrian Statue. 6 April 2016.
- ^ "افتتاح متحف الشهيد الفارس الذهبي باسل الأسد في المدينة الرياضية باللاذقية". SANA (in Arabic). 17 November 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Nepotism, cronyism, and weakness in Arabdom". MER. 7 September 1998. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
External links
[edit]- The death of Bassel al Assad BBC World Service Witness episode