Hi sipco,
Living in Lebanon, your questions regarding the Al-Assad family, of
Syria, are quite familiar to me.
I have answered each of your questions separately, with excerpts for verification.
Is there a brother who is a writer?
No. Hafez Al-Assad has two brothers, Rif?at and Jamil, neither of whom are
writers.
"...Bashar's failure to create a unified and loyal group to surround
and assist him was especially obvious regarding his close family?or,
more precisely, his clan. The extended Assad family has not lined up
behind the young president. His father's two brothers, Rif?at and
Jamil, have in one way or another expressed their reservations about
Bashar's appointment..."
United States Committee For A Free Lebanon
Does Bashar Al Assad Rule Syria?
http://freelebanon.org/articles/a374.htm
"The Assad regime came to power in Syria during a coup d?etat in
November 1970 and has since maintained a firm grip on power. The
regime?s strategy from its accession in 1970 until the mid-1980s had
been to surround itself with like-minded family members to compose a
loyal ruling elite. As part of the power structuring arrangement,
Hafez?s older brother Jamil commanded a special militia while Rif?at
commanded the Defense Companies in Damascus. In 1981, Jamil
unsuccessfully attempted to wrest power from his brother Hafez and
ended up under house arrest..."
American University of Beirut: Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies
http://wwwlb.aub.edu.lb/~webcames/Arabdoc_syria.html
"Rifaat has lived in exile in France and Spain for almost 20 years since a
failed coup attempt against Hafez al-Assad. Bashar was not intended for the
presidency. When his elder brother, Basil, died in a car crash in 1994
and his father insisted on grooming his mild-mannered second son to
succeed him, many people saw it as an old man's folly..."
Assad's son faces challenge as rivals gather for state funeral
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2000/06/12/wasad112.xml
"Assad, Rifaat al- The younger brother of Hafez. Born in 1937 in
Qardahah, Syria. Rifaat belongs to the Alowite minority religious
group in Syria.
Educated in Political Science and Economics at Damascus University,
Rifaat entered the Soviet Academy of Sciences and earned a PhD in
Politics. Career: Commander of Siraya al-Difaa (Defence regiment); he
was elected to Baathist Regional Command in 1975; Head of Dept of
Higher Educational and Scientific Studies, Damascus; Commander of
Special Defence Council; 2nd Vice President of Syrian Arab Republic.
Decorations: Medal for service in the field in 1973 war.
Rifaat Assad joined the Baath Party in1952 at the age of 15. He did military
service in the period when Syria was part of the United Arab Republic from
1958 to 61..."
(...)
"Rifaat headed a large network of business rackets ranging from legitimate
trading and contract firms, casinos and night-clubs to the smuggling of
hashish and luxury consumer goods in Lebanon. When he was assigned to
lead a new anti-corruption drive by the Baath regional congress the
first to be backed by Rifaat was Muhammad Halabi who was actually an
anti-corruption campaigner. Rifaat also owned a considerable number of
properties abroad.
When his brother Hafez?s health deteriorated in 1983 and early 1994,
Rifaat's pictures and posters appeared all over Damascus and troops
loyal to Rifaat, by 1983 numbering some 55,000, took key positions
and deployed tanks. A confrontation between rival army units ensued
and several clashes were reported. Hafez's recovery and intervantion
by other family members prevented a takeover.
In May 1984 Rifaat was sent on a working visit to Moscow along with other
officers including his two chief rivals. However Rifaat did not return home
afterwards and spent time in Switzerland and France. In November 1984
he was told to return to Syria and assume his duties as second Vice
President in charge of security, but he was no longer in charge of his
Defence regiment. In April of 1988 Rifaat resigned all his official
positions and left Syria to spend most of his time abroad..."
Cedarland
http://www.cedarland.org/bio.html#rifaat
"Assad's family and his tribe form a special subset of the Alawite
community which comprises 12 percent of Syria's population and the
core group in the coalition Assad established with rural Sunnis (30
percent of the population), other minorities (like Druzes, Kurds,
etc., 28 percent of the population), and the new rising economic elite
of urban Sunnis.
Until 1985, Assad's brothers Rifad and Jamil played crucial roles in Syrian
decision-making until Assad's heart attack. Rifad was commander of an elite
division in the Syrian army. Jamil, a political boss in the Alawite region,
formed an 80,000-strong Alawite force.
Between 1985 and 1990, Makhluf, the nephew of Assad's wife Anisa and
commander of another elite unit, rose in prominence as a reliable
Assad collaborator. After 1990, Assad's sons Basil, Bashar and Mahir
filled the same role. Following Basil's death in January 1994, Bashar,
who was educated as a scientist for long years in England, was being
groomed to run Syria, despite the fact that Bushra, Assad's daughter,
is "the real man in the family," according to Zisser."
Turkish Daily News
Assad's Inner Circle of Friends Makes the Syrian World (and PKK) Go Round
http://www.turkishdailynews.com/past_probe/06_28_96/foreign.htm
=================================
Does he have a daughter named Autawa?
No. Hafez Al-Assad's only daughter, Bushra, is the wife of Asaf
Shawkat, who serves in a senior capacity in Syrian military security.
"...A second contender could be Bashar's brother-in-law, Gen Assaf
Shawkat, head of military intelligence. He is married to the late
president's only daughter, Bushra. As Syria is effectively run by the
intelligence services, he would be a widely accepted candidate to
protect the family..."
The Daily Telegraph
Assad's son faces challenge as rivals gather for state funeral
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2000/06/12/wasad112.xml
Late President Hafez Al-Assad in Profile - The Family
Arabji
http://www.arabji.com/Syria/assad.htm
=================================
Is there a family business known as Al Hafez group that owns businesses in
Lebanon?
There is a business called Al-Hafez Group, however, they have no ties with the
Al-Assad family. Rather, it is a privately owned company of the Hafez family.
"AL-HAFEZ GROUP is a privately owned group of manufacturing and trade
companies operating in three main Syrian cities: Damascus, Homs,
Aleppo as divisions or branches since 1980, with a background in the
refrigeration industry since 1950.
Operations are decentralized, except for several functions performed
at the group's head quarters in Damascus including general policy,
monitoring of operations, and control of legal services."
Al-Hafez Group: Profile
http://www.al-hafezgroup.com/profile.html
Here you can see the branches of this company, including the managers,
in three Syrian cities and one branch in Beirut, Lebanon.
http://www.al-hafezgroup.com/trade.html
=================================
Search criteria:
"Hafez Al-Assad" "his children OR daughter OR brother"
"Hafez Al-Assad" bushra
"Hafez Al-Assad" bashar basil maher OR mahir
"Hafez Al-Assad" jamil rifat
"Al Hafez group" lebanon
I hope the information provided is helpful. If you have any questions
regarding my answer please don't hesitate to ask before rating it.
Best regards,
Rainbow |
