Back ماهر الأسد Arabic ماهر الاسد ARZ Mahir Əsəd Azerbaijani Мәһир Әсәд Bashkir Махер ал-Асад Bulgarian মাহের আল আসাদ Bengali/Bangla ماھیر ئەسەد CKB Máhir al-Asad Czech Maher al-Assad Danish Mahir al-Assad German

Maher al-Assad

In this Arabic name, the surname is al-Assad.
Major General

Maher Hafez al-Assad
مَاهِرُ ٱلْأَسَدِ
Native name
مَاهِرُ حَافِـظِ ٱلْأَسَد
Nickname(s)The Chief[1]
Born (1967-12-08) 8 December 1967 (age 57)
Damascus, Syria
AllegianceBa'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria
Service / branch Syrian Army
Years of service1988–2024
Rank Major General[2][3][4][5][6]
Commands
Battles / wars
Syrian Civil War
Spouse(s)Manal al-Jadaan
RelationsHafez al-Assad (father)
Bushra al-Assad (sister)
Bassel al-Assad (brother)
Bashar al-Assad (brother)
Majd al-Assad (brother)
Jamil al-Assad (uncle)
Rifaat al-Assad (uncle)

Major General Maher Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: مَاهِرُ ٱلْأَسَدِ, romanized: Māhir al-ʾAsad, born 8 December 1967) is a Syrian former military officer who served as commander of the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Division, which, together with Syria's Military Intelligence, formed the core of the Ba'athist regime's security forces until its collapse in 2024.[7][8] He is the younger brother of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and also was a member of the Central Committee of the Syrian Ba'ath Party.[9]

At the onset of the Syrian Revolution, Maher was thought by some to be the second-most powerful man in Syria after his brother Bashar, the president.[10][11] Maher is considered a regime hardliner, who reportedly favored the crackdown against the Damascus Spring movement and has been implicated in UN reports of orchestrating the killing of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.[11]

Maher oversaw the crackdown against Syrian protestors at Daraa, which led to the US and the European Union announcing sanctions against him.[11] Maher is described by analysts as preferring Iran (as opposed to Russia) to play the largest role as the Syrian Government's main ally during the Syrian Civil War and subsequent post-war reconstruction. This is in contrast to the position of Major General Suheil al-Hassan, commander of the 25th Special Mission Forces Division who has gained much influence as a result of his activities during the Syrian Civil War, who was reported as preferring Russia.[12][13][14][15] However, it was reported in 2021 that Maher was part of the Ba'athist faction that demanded the end of Iranian presence in Syria, so as to promote regional rapprochement with neighboring Arab countries.[16]

Maher al-Assad also supervised operations of the Shabiha squads, pro-Assad Alawite paramilitaries known for sectarian attacks against Sunni civilians.[17] As the commander of Fourth Armoured Division, Maher is directly involved in the production, trafficking and export operations of Syria's multi-billion dollar drug empire, which mostly smuggles an illegal drug known as Captagon.[a]

In the aftermath of the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, which led to the fall of the Assad regime and the exile of his brother Bashar, Reuters reported that Maher had fled to Russia via Iraq.[23]

  1. ^ Chris Tomson (30 June 2017). "Bashar Al-Assad's brother promoted to Major General for Daraa military campaign". al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  2. ^ Weiss, Michael (9 August 2011). "My interview with a defected Syrian soldier; plus, more leaked Syrian documents". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  3. ^ Aboufadel, Leith (22 March 2016). "Maher Al-Assad promoted to Major General". Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  4. ^ Aboufadel, Leith (31 December 2016). "Maher Al-Assad, Suheil Al-Hassan official accept military promotions". Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Newsfeed: Maher al-Assad and Sohail al-Hassan are raised to Higher Ranks". Eldorar Alshamia. 1 January 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Has Syria's dictator Assad suffered a stroke?". Newsweek. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  7. ^ "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION 2011/302/CFSP of 23 May 2011 implementing Decision 2011/273/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Syria". Official Journal of the European Union. L136/91. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Syria's military: what does Assad have?". Reuters. 6 April 2011. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  9. ^ Alan George (6 September 2003). Syria: Neither Bread Nor Freedom. Zed Books. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-84277-213-3. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  10. ^ Syria 101: 4 attributes of Assad's authoritarian regime, The Assad family – Ariel Zirulnick
  11. ^ a b c "Bashar al-Assad's inner circle". BBC News. 30 July 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Russia, Iran in Syria: Partners clashing - Region - World - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  13. ^ Bakeer, Ali. "US 'maximum pressure' on Iran is empowering Russia in Syria". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Russia, Iran Maneuver for Influence in Syria". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Columnist In Syrian Daily Close To Assad Regime: As Russia-Iran Disagreements In Syria Increase, Each One Pressures Regime To Accept Its Initiative For The Region". MEMRI. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  16. ^ Hashem, Ali (15 November 2021). "IRGC Syria commander removed 'upon request from Assad'". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
  17. ^ "All the Tyrant's Men: Chipping Away at the Assad Regime's Core". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  18. ^ Jalabi, Raya (28 March 2023). "Assad cousins hit with sanctions over amphetamine trade that funds regime". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023.
  19. ^ Solomou, John (17 April 2023). "Syria is largest narco-state in world as it earns more from Captagon than from its legal exports". ANI. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023.
  20. ^ Daly, Max (14 December 2022). "Is the Syrian Regime the World's Biggest Drug Dealer?". Vice News. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023.
  21. ^ AlKhaldi, Celine (11 April 2023). "A little-known drug brought billions to Syria's coffers. Now it's a bargaining chip". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023.
  22. ^ Hubbard, Saad, Ben, Hwaida (5 December 2021). "On Syria's Ruins, a Drug Empire Flourishes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ Nakhoul, Samia; Gebeily, Maya; Hafezi, Parisa; Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (13 December 2012). "Assad's final hours in Syria: Deception, despair and flight". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024.


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