President of the Syrian Arab Republic , Bashar al-Assad
-Biography:


Place and Date of Birth:
Damascus - Sept. 11th ,1965

Social Status:
Married to Mrs. Asma al-Assad, with three children: Two boys and a girl.

He studied in Damascus schools and got High School Certificate in 1982. He studied Medicine at Damascus University and graduated in 1988. He specialized in Ophthalmology at Tishreen Military Hospital before pursuing his studies in London until 1994.

His public activities before assuming office involved numerous political and vocational tasks.

He headed the Syrian Computer Society, SCS, in 1995, and worked to spread the culture of information technology nationwide.

Since 1995 he has been supervising the reform programs of the two Ministries of Education and Higher Education.

In 1997 he launched the national program of informatics in cooperation with the Ministry of Education to allow free access to informatics through free-of-charge training centers.

-The posts he assumed:

He joined the military as an officer at the Medical Services Department in 1985, and pursued numerous military training courses. In 11/06/2000 he was promoted to the rank of Lt. Gen. and appointed as Commander General of the Army and Armed Forces.

He was elected Chairman of Al-Baath Arab Socialist Party in June 2000, and was elected on 10/07/2000 President of the Republic and assumed office after he was sworn in before the People's Assembly on 17/07/2000.

The president was re-elected Chairman of Al-Baath Party and its Central Committee by the 10th Congress in May 2005. He was re-elected as president on May 27th, 2007 and was sworn in before the People's Assembly on July 17th 2007, ushering in for 2nd constitutional term of office.

On the internal level, the president focused over the past years on the following:

-Embarking on an ambitious strategy of gradual social and economic reform and empowering the social market economy.

-Providing proper political and legislative climate for development of the laws and regulations.

- Improvement of the economic investment climate, and renovating organizational environment stimulus and infrastructure, building industrial cities, free zones, and liberating the trade. (Investment multiplied 12 times).

-Development of the financial and banking sector and licensing private banks, insurance companies, securities exchange.

-Development of the media sector and licensing private newspapers and other media.

-Development of the education and teaching system and licensing private universities.

-Consolidation of institutional work at the governmental and popular bodies, combating waste and corruption at the state establishments, promoting the values of innovation, knowledge, team spirit, and investment in human resources skills and training.

-Direct supervision on the administrative reform, and introducing structure development into the government structure and work, facilitating the measures and procedures by easing bureaucracy and computerization of work.

-On external level, the president focused on the following:

-Working for the establishment of just and comprehensive peace in the region in the heart of which is the return of the occupied Golan.

-Consolidating the concepts of right, sovereignty, justice and international legitimacy in international relations.

-Diplomatic and political action to consolidate the basis of Arab solidarity and regional and international cooperation.

-Encouraging economic and commercial partnerships, and cooperation relations in spheres of culture, sciences, technology, and opening to the experiences of other nations with stress on dialogue of cultures.

-The president chaired in March 2008 the Arab League Council on the summit level.