Bahjat Suleiman
Bahjat Suleiman | |
---|---|
بهجت سليمان | |
General Security Directorate | |
In office 1998–2005 | |
President | Bashar al-Assad |
Preceded by | Mohammed Nasif Kheirbek |
Succeeded by | Fouad Nasif Kheir Bek |
Personal details | |
Born | 1949 1973 War 1982 Lebanon War |
Bahjat Suleiman (
Early life and education
Bahjat Suleiman was born in the city of Lattakia, a graduate of the Homs Military Academy, with a BA in military sciences from the 1968/1970 class.[5] He holds a master's degree in command and staff from the Syrian Command and Staff College. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy from Romania.[6][3]
Early experience
He was a company commander, battalion, regiment, and tank brigade in the Defense Companies, the paramilitary force in Syria that was commanded by Rifaat al-Assad, and then in the Syrian Arab Army. While in the Defense Companies, he participated in the Yom Kippur War against Israel 1973 in the northern sector, and then in the 1982 Lebanon War.
Under Hafez's rule
Suleiman began his career as a staunch supporter of Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of current President Bashar al-Assad, however later switched loyalties to the late Hafez al-Assad.[5] In March 1984, during Rifaat al-Assad's attempted coup d'état, Suleiman as chief of the Defense Companies' security apparatus, sent pertinent intelligence regarding the Defense Companies mobilizations in Damascus to Hafez al-Assad, allowing Hafez to dispatch his own troops to Damascus in time to thwart the coup.[7]
In the years leading to Hafez al-Assad's death, Bahjat Suleiman was responsible for marketing Bashar al-Assad as the "hope" for Syria.[2] When Hafez al-Assad died on June 10, 2000, Bahjat Suleiman publicly pledged support for Bashar al-Assad.[8]
Media
Bahjat Suleiman was the mastermind of the regime's media policies since Assad took power in 1971.
Bahjat Suleiman was a leader in the Baath Party and had published many research pieces and publications on former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and his son, Basil al-Assad. He had his own blog on Facebook, which published his writings, under the name "Swords of Reason with Bahjat Suleiman"
Controversies
Implication in Rafic Hariri assassination
Bahjat Suleiman was one of several high-ranking Syrian government and military officials named as responsible for the assassination of Rafic Hariri in a draft of the United Nations Mehlis Report that was erroneously released as a Microsoft Word document which preserved changes that had been made in the document since its creation.[13][14] The official Mehlis Report made no specific mention of anyone in the Syrian government as responsible for the assassination. The Syrian ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustafa, said that the report is "full of political rumors, gossip, and hearsay."[13]
Expulsion from Jordan
In May 2014 Bahjat Suleiman was expelled from the
Death
Bahjat Suleiman died on 25 February 2021, from COVID-19.[5]
References
- OCLC 50919971.
- ^ a b Khalaf, Roula (15 June 2012). "Bashar al-Assad: behind the mask". Financial Times. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ S2CID 154739379.
- ^ "Who Rules Syria? Bashar al-Asad and the Alawi 'Barons'". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Syrian regime security figure Bahjat Suleiman dies after contracting Covid-19". The New Arab. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Who's who: Bahjat Sulaiman". The Syrian Observer. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ Hamidi, Ibrahim (26 October 2021). "A Once Powerful Patriarch Returns to an Unrecognizable Syria". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Assad's Son Gains Control of Syria's Levers of Power". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ Lazkani, Alimar (23 November 2018). "Local Actors in the Syrian Coastal Area: Characteristics and Prospects". Arab Reform Initiative.
- ^ Lazkani, Alimar (23 November 2018). "Local Actors in the Syrian Coastal Area: Characteristics and Prospects". Arab Reform Initiative.
- OCLC 1265465288.
- ^ Nahhas, Lynne (11 July 2011). "Syria's secret war against the cyber dissidents". AFP.
- ^ a b "Syria's Response to the Mehlis Report". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Official: Mehlis probe calls Syrians". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Jordan and the Syria Crisis: Mitigating the 'Known Unknowns'". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Jordan expels Syrian ambassador over 'repeated insults'". BBC News. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ "Jordan, Syria bar envoys in tit-for-tat diplomatic row". Reuters. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2022.