The rise and fall of Bashar and Asma Assad
Fox News
Who are Bashar and Asma Assad? All about the Syrian dictator and his wife.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Assad’s father, Hafez Assad, had been cultivating Bashar’s oldest brother Basil as his successor. In 1994, Basil was killed in a car crash in Damascus. Bashar was then brought home from his ophthalmology practice in London and put through military training, where he was elevated to the rank of colonel to give him the credentials to one day rule Syria. Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
Hafez ruled Syria for nearly 30 years, during which he established a Soviet-style centralized economy. He also formed an alliance with the Shiite clerical leadership in Iran, sealed Syrian domination over Lebanon and set up a network of Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups.
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