Asma al-Assad
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Asma al-Assad
| Asma al-Assad أسماء الأسد |
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|---|---|
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| First Lady of Syria | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Anisa Makhlouf |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Asma al-Akhras 11 August 1975 London, England, UK |
| Nationality | Syrian, British |
| Spouse(s) | Bashar al-Assad |
| Relations | Fawaz Akhras |
| Children | Hafez (born 2001) Zein (born 2003) Karim (born 2004) |
| Alma mater | King's College London |
Asma al-Assad (Arabic: أسماء الأسد); born 11 August 1975; née Asma al-Akhras (Arabic: أسماء فواز الأخرس), is the British-Syrian First Lady of Syria.[1][2] Born, raised and educated in the United Kingdom by Syrian-born parents, she graduated with a BSc. in Computer Science and French Literature. Following an unreported romance, she moved to Syria to marry President Bashar al-Assad in December 2000 after she previously pursued a career in investment banking.
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Early life, education and finance career
Asma al-Akhras was born on 11 August 1975 in London to Fawaz Akhras, a consultant cardiologist at the Cromwell Hospital, London, and Sahar al-Akhras (née Otri), a retired diplomat. Her parents are Sunni and of Syrian origin, originally from Homs.[3][4] She grew up in Acton where she went to a local Church of England school where her friends called her 'Emma',[5] before moving on to a private girls school, Queen's College. Having attended King's College London, she graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and a Diploma in French Literature.[6]
After university, she started work at Deutsche Bank Group in the hedge fund management division with clients in Europe and the East Asia. In 1998, she joined the investment banking division of J.P. Morgan.[7][8]
Personal life
She met Bashar al-Assad, the future president of Syria, while he was studying ophthalmology in London.[3] After Hafez al-Assad's death in June 2000, Assad's son took over the presidency of Syria. She emigrated to Syria in November 2000 and married the new president in December. They have three children: Hafez, Zein and Karim.[3]
First Lady
Asma al-Assad has been described by analysts and in media as an important part of the public relations of the Syrian government.[9][8][10] She was credited with taking progressive positions on women's rights and education.[10][9] Her stylish designer outfits have garnered media attention.[9] The Syrian uprising has, however, dealt a blow to her public image[9] amidst reports of extravagant spending, and a new picture emerged "of a woman closer in spirit to Imelda Marcos than the moderating counsellor to her husband's excesses that she was once seen as being."[11][12]
Some commentary has criticized her for remaining silent during the Syrian uprising,[13][14][9] issuing her first statement to international media in February 2012 through a representative over a year after the first serious protests. The representative sent an e-mail to The Times in London on her behalf stating: "The President is the President of Syria, not a faction of Syrians, and the first lady supports him in that role."[15]
On 23 March 2012, European Union ministers froze her assets and placed a travel ban on her and other family members.[16][17] Asma al-Assad herself remains able to travel to the UK because of her British nationality.[18]
On 16 April 2012, Huberta von Voss Wittig and Sheila Lyall Grant, the wives of the German and British ambassadors to the United Nations, released a four-minute video asking Asma al-Assad to stand up for peace and urge her husband to end the bloodshed in her country.[19][20]
References
- ^ "Assad's British wife targeted by EU as Annan pursues talks on ceasefire" Saturday, 24 March 2012, The Scotsman
- ^ Ramdani, Nabila (10 May 2011). "Is Asma Assad in London?". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8503481/Is-Asma-Assad-in-London.html. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ^ a b c Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview". Comparative Strategy 25: 380. http://www.herzliyaconference.org/_Uploads/2590Bashars.pdf. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ Bar'el, Zvi (27 April 2011). "In Syria, the army's loyalty to Assad runs deep". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/in-syria-the-army-s-loyalty-to-assad-runs-deep-1.358310. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ "The road to Damascus (all the way from Acton)". BBC News. 31 October 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1630134.stm. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ Harvey, Oliver (3 July 2009). "Sexy Brit bringing Syria in from the cold". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2514525/Sexy-Brit-bringing-Syria-in-from-the-cold.html. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ "The First Lady". Embassy of Syria in Washington D.C.. http://www.syrianembassy.us/first_lady.html.
- ^ a b Bennet, James (10 July 2005). "The Enigma of Damascus". New York Times online. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/10/magazine/10SYRIA.html?pagewanted=all.
- ^ a b c d e Agence France-Presse (2012-01-14). "Syria's First Lady Asma al-Assad Falling from Grace". Vancouversun.com. http://www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=5997347&sponsor=escapes.ca. Retrieved 2012-02-14. (mirror)
- ^ a b "Will Asma al-Assad take a stand or stand by her man?". Edition.cnn.com. 25 December 2011. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/25/world/meast/asma-al-assad-profile/index.html. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
- ^ "Syrian first lady's caring image unlikely to recover", The Independent, 16 March 2012
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-first-ladys-caring-image-unlikely-to-recover-7574585.html
- ^ "Asma al-Assad, the glamorous face of Syria's dictatorship". Fullcomment.nationalpost.com. 2012-01-13. http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/01/13/peter-goodspeed-the-glamorous-face-of-syrias-dictatorship. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
- ^ Fletcher, Martin (30 January 2012). "Has Syria's Princess Diana become its Marie Antoinette?". The Australian. The Times. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/world-politics/has-syrias-princess-diana-become-its-marie-antoinette/story-fn9hkofv-1226257230037.
- ^ Agence France-Presse (8 February 2012). "First lady breaks silence to support President Assad". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/world/first-lady-breaks-silence-to-support-president-assad-20120207-1r59e.html.
- ^ "Syria crisis: EU to put sanctions on Asma al-Assad". BBC News. 23 March 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17483714. Retrieved 23 March 2012.[1]
- ^ http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:087:0103:01:EN:HTML
- ^ "Assad's relatives face asset freeze and travel ban as EU steps up sanctions". The Guardian. 23 March 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/23/assads-eu-sanctions-asma-bashar-syria. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- ^ "UN ambassador wives in peace plea to Syria's Asma Assad". BBC News. 16 Apr 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17753841. Retrieved 18 Apr 2012.
- ^ International letter and petition to Asma al-Assad (Youtube video by Huberta von Voss Wittig and Sheila Lyall Grant, 16 April 2012)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Asma al-Assad |
- Ann Curry interviews Asma, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams (9 May 2007)
- The London girl with a plan to save Syria, Margarette Driscoll, The Times (7 December 2008)
- The Mysterious Mrs. Assad, CBC News / The National - Special report from Susan Ormiston (20 February 2012)
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