When Hafez Assad died in 2000, parliament quickly lowered the presidential age requirement from 40 to 34. Bashar’s elevation was sealed by a nationwide referendum, in which he was the only candidate.
Hafez, a lifelong military man, ruled the country for nearly 30 years during which he set up a Soviet-style centralised economy and kept such a stifling hand over dissent that Syrians feared even to joke about politics to their friends.
Initially, upon coming to office, Assad freed political prisoners and allowed more open discourse. In the “Damascus Spring,” salons for intellectuals emerged where Syrians could discuss art, culture and politics to a degree impossible under his father. But after 1,000 intellectuals signed a public petition calling for multiparty democracy and greater freedoms in 2001, and others tried to form a political party, the salons were snuffed out by the feared secret police, who jailed dozens of activists.
How did Assad stay in power?
Assad slowly lifted economic restrictions, let in foreign banks, threw the doors open to imports and empowered the private sector. Damascus and other cities long mired in drabness saw a flourishing of shopping malls, new restaurants and consumer goods. Tourism swelled.
Abroad, he stuck to the line his father had set, based on the alliance with Iran and a policy of insisting on a full return of the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, although in practice Assad never militarily confronted Israel. In 2005, he suffered a heavy blow with the loss of Syria’s decades-old control over neighbouring Lebanon after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Who his is British wife?
Asma Al Assad, 49, was born in London in 1975 and her parents were Fawaz Akhras, a highly-rated cardiologist at the private Cromwell Hospital, and her mum Saha, a senior Syrian diplomat. She was sent to the fee-paying Queen's College in Marylebone, where it can cost up to £9k a term. Her brothers, Feras, 46, and Eyad, 44, are also doctors.
She graduated in 1996 from King College's London with a degree in computer science and French literature and had a successful career in investment companies such as JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank. Asma had planned to begin an MBA at Harvard University when she resigned and in 2000, married Assad. They have three children together, aged between 19 and 23.
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency Facebook page on August 8, 2018, shows the Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad carrying papers as she begins treatment for early-stage breast cancer at a hospital in the capital Damascus.
Why has the dictator fled to Russia?
Russian media confirmed Assad has been granted asylum "out of humanitarian considerations" after rebel forces seized control of Damascus. Russia is a staunch ally of Assad and has intervened in Syria's 13-year civil war in an effort to keep him in power, as the Kremlin has two key military bases in Syria.
In addition, Russian state TV said Russian officials were speaking to representatives of "the Syrian armed opposition" and that they had guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions.
Could his wife come back to the UK?
Asma Al-Assad, who married into the brutal dynasty, has reportedly fled Syria and flown to Russia after being granted asylum by Vladimir Putin. She had been battling an aggressive form of leukaemia and is believed to have been with her daughter and two sons days before her husband fled Syria. Her parents still own the £1 million terraced house off the A40 in Acton, west London, where Asma grew up. Her family is not covered by UK sanctions, but her parents and brothers are under wider US sanctions regulations.
The High Court was told in 2020 that Assad is believed to have a frozen account with HSBC in London with a balance of more than £40 million. The British government said there has been "no contact or no request" for the Asma to return to the UK.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said there has no been contact for her to come back to the UK, he said: "The family are in Russia as far as we know, that's what Russian state media have said. We've certainly had no contact or no request for Mr Assad's wife to come to the UK."
