Walid Muallem
Ambassador of Syria to the United States | |
---|---|
In office 1 January 1990 – 31 December 2000 | |
President | Hafez al-Assad Abdul Halim Khaddam (Acting) Bashar al-Assad |
Preceded by | Rafic Jouejati |
Succeeded by | Rustum Al-Zubi |
Personal details | |
Born | Walid Mohi Edine al Muallem 13 January 1941 Syria |
Died | 16 November 2020 Damascus, Syria | (aged 79)
Political party | Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party |
Other political affiliations | National Progressive Front |
Spouse | Sawsan Khayat |
Children | 3 |
Nickname | Abu Tarek |
Walid Mohi Edine al Muallem
Early life and education
Walid Muallem was born into a Sunni family on 13 January 1941 in Damascus.[citation needed] He received primary and secondary education in public schools from 1948 to 1960. Then he obtained a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Cairo University in 1963.[3]
Career
Muallem was a member of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.[4] Muallem began his career at foreign ministry in 1964 and served in Syrian missions to Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the United Kingdom.[2] During his tenure in Saudi Arabia Muallem was a political attache.[5] In May 1967 he and another Syrian political attache in Saudi Arabia, Jaber Bajbuj, were declared persona non grata by the Saudi authorities due to their alleged contacts with Ba'ath agents in Saudi Arabia, and both were ordered to leave the country within 24 hours.[5]
He served as Syria's Ambassador to Romania from 1975 to 1980. Next he became the head of authentication and translation department at the foreign ministry in 1980 and his term ended in 1984.[2] Later he served as the head of private offices department from 1984 to 1990. After serving as Syria's ambassador to the United States from 1990 to 2000, Muallem was named as assistant foreign minister in 2000. He was appointed deputy foreign minister in 2005[3] and given the Lebanese file by president Bashar al-Assad.[6]
He was appointed as
He was involved in Israeli-Syrian negotiations, both before and during his tenure as foreign minister.[9]
Syrian civil war
Early on in the
In October 2012, after
In January 2013, after United Nations and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Bashar al-Assad should not take part in a transitional government, Muallem called on opposition groups to join a new cabinet under al-Assad, so long as they "reject foreign intervention."[17]
During his speech during the
In January 2014, Muallem participated in the Geneva II Conference on Syria at Montreux. He described the opposition as traitors and terrorists in his initial speech while accusing a number of states of supporting terrorism and deliberately attempting to destabilize Syria.[19] Despite the conference rules permitting only ten minutes to each speaker, Muallem talked for over forty minutes before finishing and repeatedly ignored Ban Ki-moon attempts to conclude his speech.[20]
In February 2016, after
Following the September 2016 Deir ez-Zor air raid which killed up to 100 Syrian soldiers, Muallem said that the Syrian government "holds the United States fully responsible because facts show that it was an intentional attack, and not an error, even if the United States claims otherwise."[22]
From 2012 until his death, he was listed on the EU sanction list. According to the EU as a government minister, he shared responsibility for the Syrian regime's violent repression of the civilian population.[23]
Personal life and death
Muallem was married to Sawsan Khayat and had three children, Tarek, Shatha and Khaled.[3][24] He died on the morning of 16 November 2020, at the age of 79, at Shami Hospital in Damascus.[25] The cause of his death was not disclosed, but Muallem had been suffering from heart problems for years.[26][27] He was buried at Mezzeh Cemetery.[25]
See also
References
- ^ "Syria Appoints Veteran Diplomat Faisal Mekdad as Foreign Minister". Voice of America. Reuters. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d "His Excellency Walid Muhi Eddine Moallem". Arab Decision. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ a b c "Walid al Muallem". SANA. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Sami Moubayed (1 June 2005). "The faint smell of jasmine". Al Ahram Weekly. 744. Archived from the original on 25 March 2013.
- ^ S2CID 144587765.
- ISBN 978-0-275-99015-2. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- ^ "Assad keeps Moualem as foreign minister in new govt". Reuters. Amman. 14 April 2011. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- ^ a b "Syria. Brokering Hate on Israel's Border" (PDF). American Jewish Committee. August 2006: 12–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2016.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "Interview: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem". Foreign Policy. 10 June 2009.
- ^ Diana Mukkaled (3 December 2011). "Walid Muallem: A mistake or a masterstroke?". Al Arabiya. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ a b Fisk, Robert (28 August 2012). "Exclusive: 'We believe that the USA is the major player against Syria and the rest are its instruments'". Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "States backing Syria rebels 'aid terror' – Walid Muallem". BBC News. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "Ban Urges Syria to Show 'Compassion' to Its People". Nahar Net online. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "U.S. wants to repeat Iraqi chemical weapons scenario in Syria: Muallem". Al Arabiya. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "Damascus rejects UN chief call for unilateral ceasefire". The Daily Star. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "Muallem Says 'Sanctions behind Syrians' Suffering'". Naharnet. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "Syria crisis: Foreign Minister Muallem calls for talks". BBC News. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ "'Foreign terrorists' fighting in Syria – Walid Muallem". BBC. 30 September 2013.
- ^ "Syria Geneva II peace talks witness bitter exchanges". BBC News. 22 January 2014.
- ^ "'It took me 12 hours to get here!' Syrian FM bickers with Ban Ki-moon". Al Arabiya English. 22 January 2014.
- ^ "Syria says any foreign troops would 'return in coffins'". Al Jazeera. 7 February 2016.
- ^ "Syria at UN says confident of military victory". Al-Monitor. 24 September 2016.
- ^ Regulation (EU) No 2020/716 of 28 May 2020 implementing Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria
- ^ "Syrian foreign minister al-Muallem dies". sheppnews.com. 17 November 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "دمشق.. تشييع وليد المعلم لـ دفنه في مقبرة المزة" (in Arabic). 16 November 2020 – via syria.tv.
- ^ Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (16 November 2020). "Top Syria diplomat Moalem, soft-spoken defender of Assad, dies at 79". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ "رئاسة مجلس الوزراء ووزارة الخارجية والمغتربين تنعيان نائب رئيس مجلس الوزراء وزير الخارجية والمغتربين وليد المعلم" (in Arabic) – via S A N A.
External links
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs official government website
- "Fresh Light on the Syrian-Israeli Peace Negotiations" Archived 23 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 26, no. 2, Winter 1997, interview
- "States Backing Syria Rebels 'Aid Terror' – Walid Muallem". pandith. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.