Bashar al-Assad (Arabic: بشار الأسد) (born 11 September 1965) was a Syrian politician who was the 19th president of Syria from 2000 to 2024 (until his defeat in the Syrian Civil War, after which he fled the country to Russia on December 8th). In addition, he was the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He is a son of Hafez al-Assad, former President of Syria from 1971 to 2000.
