Members of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party (Syrian-Dominated Faction) - Abdullah Al-Ahmar, Ahmed Hassan Al-Bakr, Bashar Al-Assad, Hafez Al-Ass (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 27. Chapters: Abdullah al-Ahmar, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Bashar al-Assad, Hafez al-Assad, Nureddin al-Atassi, Salah Jadid, Zuheir Mohsen. Excerpt: Hafez al-Assad (Arabic:, Levantine pronunciation: 6 October 1930 - 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman, politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Syria between 1970 and 1971 and then President between 1971 and 2000. He also served as Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and Secretary General of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party from 1970 to 2000 and Minister of Defense from 1966 to 1972. Politically a Ba'athist, Assad adhered to the ideologies of Arab nationalism, Arab socialism and secularism. Under his administration the Syria saw increased stabilization, with a program of secularization and industrialization designed to modernize and strengthen the country as a regional power. Born to a poor Alawite family, Assad joined the Syrian wing of the Ba'ath Party in 1946 as a student activist. In 1952 he entered the Homs Military Academy, graduating three years later as a pilot. While exiled to Egypt (1959-1961) during Syria's short-lived union with Egypt in the United Arab Republic, Assad and other military officers formed a committee to resurrect the fortunes of the Syrian Ba'ath Party. After the Ba'athists took power in 1963, Assad became commander of the air force. In 1966, after taking part in a coup that overthrew the civilian leadership of the party and sent its founders into exile, he became Minister of Defense. During Assad's ministry Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, dealing Assad a blow that shaped much of his future political career. Assad then engaged in a protracted power struggle with Salah al-Jadid, chief of staff of the armed forces, Assad's political mentor, and effective leader of Syria, until finally in November 1970 Assad seized control, arresting Jadid and other members of the government. He became prime minister and in 1971 was elected president. In 1973 Assad changed Syria's Constitution in order to guarantee equal status for women and enable non-Musl