Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has reportedly fled Damascus, signalling the end of his rule after more than a decade of brutal civil war.
Rebel groups, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have made significant advances, leaving the capital vulnerable and marking the collapse of Assad’s once impenetrable government.
The shifting power dynamics reflect the unravelling of a family dynasty that has defined Syria’s fate for over half a century, of which Assad was the “last standing”.
Often called “a dictator without a dictator,” his power relied not on his leadership, but on the unyielding support of his “inner circle”, his closest family members – his brother Maher, a fiery military commander; his sister Bushra, known as “the Iron Lady” and her husband Asef Shawkat, a calculating intelligence figure – and his wife Asma Al-Assad.
But as Assad flees, their once-unified front begins to fracture. Below Express.co.uk looks at Assad’s wife, who has played a significant part in his rule.
Born in London in 1975 to a Syrian diplomat family, Asma Al-Assad married Bashar al-Assad in December 2000, becoming Syria’s First Lady.
Her parents are Sunni Muslims and of Syrian origin, from the city of Homs – a major city which is now also under the control of rebels.
Asma holds degrees in computer science and French literature from King’s College London and worked in investment banking before marrying Bashar. She resigned from her job in investment banking following the wedding and remained in Syria.
The couple have three children: Hafez, named after President Assad’s father Hafez al-Assad, (2001), daughter Zein (2003), and Karim (2004). In January 2013, Bashar stated in an interview that Asma was pregnant, however, there were no later reports of them having a fourth child.
She played a key role in shaping Assad’s image as a moderate reformer. In 2005, she launched an organisation to encourage Syrian youth to embrace “active citizenship.”
Along with her husband, Asma was considered to be one of the “main economic players” in Syria, controlling large parts of Syrian business sectors, banking, telecommunications, real estate and maritime industries, according to The Syria Report in late 2022.
As a result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, which began in March 2011, Assad is subject to economic sanctions relating to high-level Syrian government officials, making it illegal in the European Union to provide her with material and financial assistance, for her to obtain certain products and curtailing her ability to travel within the EU, The Telegraph reported.
In the UK, she was a part of a preliminary inquiry within the War Crimes unit of the Met Police with allegations involving the “systematic approach to the torture and murder of civilians, including with the use of chemical weapons” and incitement of terrorist acts, Sky News reported in 2021.
On May 21 2024, the Syrian presidency announced that Assad had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, following the emergence of several symptoms and clinical signs, which would force her to refrain from direct work and participation in events as part of the treatment plan. She had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018.
Rumors suggest that, since the uprising began on November 27, Asma has exiled herself in London with their children.
