Asma Akhras, the future wife of Bashar al-Assad, grew up in privileged surroundings in a terraced house in Acton, west London.
The daughter of a cardiologist and a diplomat from the Syrian embassy, she worked for several years in international banking after school.
At the age of 25, Asma married the president of Syria, becoming the country’s first lady.
She held this role for 24 years, until last weekend, when her husband, considered a despot, was overthrown by a rebel alliance after a long and bloody civil war.
This spectacular reversal shed light on the unusual life of Asma al-Assad.
Who is she and how did she go from a quiet neighborhood in London to a palace in Damascus, where brutal war crimes were being carried out?
The British origins of Asma al-Assad
Asma was born in 1975 to Fawaz and Sahar Akhras. His father, a cardiologist in London, saw his two sons follow medical careers.
According to The Times, Asma called herself Emma while studying at Twyford Church of England High School in Acton.
She completed her bachelor’s degree at Queen’s College in Marylebone and completed a degree in computer science at King’s College London.
Subsequently, she managed to forge a promising career at JP Morgan, looming a lucrative future in finance. However, a very different path awaited him.
Chronology of his relationship with Assad
It was in London that she met Bashar al-Assad, who had moved there in 1992 to become an ophthalmologist.
Two years later, after the tragic death of his older brother in a car accident, he became the presumed successor to his father Hafez, who had ruled Syria since 1971.
When Hafez died in June 2000, Bashar took over the presidency after winning an election with 97% of the vote. In December of the same year, he and Asma got married.
A Reuters profile suggests that the Assad family was not particularly thrilled with their union. Indeed, Asma’s family is Sunni, while her husband belongs to the Alewite minority.
During her time at the presidential palace, she carefully cultivated a glamorous image, sporting Christian Louboutin shoes and Chanel dresses.
In 2011, Vogue magazine published an article titled “A Rose in the Desert,” describing Asma as “a slim beauty with a keen analytical mind, dressing with subtle taste.” However, soon after this publication, the Arab Spring took root in Syria, and Bashar al-Assad began a terrible campaign of violence to quell the insurgency.
Questions then arose about the possibility that his apparently liberal wife could exert influence to mitigate her husband’s brutality. Yet leaked emails revealed she joked about being “the real dictator” at home. Asma has become a hate figure for many Syrians.
The Assad family life
Asma and Bashar al-Assad have three children: two sons, Hafez (23 years old) and Karim (19 years old), as well as a daughter, Zein (21 years old).
Hafez, named after his paternal grandfather, studied mathematics at Moscow State University in Russia.
According to reports, the family has now returned to Russia after fleeing Damascus following the overthrow of the Assad government by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Earlier this year, Asma announced that she had been diagnosed with leukemia, having previously been treated for breast cancer in 2018.
This morning, Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said there had been “no contact or request” for her return to the UK.
Asked on BBC Radio 4 about Asma’s right to return, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster replied: “I cannot comment on her individual rights. I don’t know his exact circumstances, so I don’t know what would happen under those conditions, but that’s not a question that was asked of us. »
It is fascinating to observe the journey of Asma al-Assad, a figure who illustrates the complex dynamics of power and public perception. Its American rise and fall in some ways through the eyes of a nation at war reveals how individual narratives can be influenced by sociopolitical contexts. Her image, carefully shaped by outside influences, ultimately collided with the reality of the tragic consequences of her husband’s regime. I think it is crucial to keep in mind that the transformation of a first lady into a symbol of resistance or opprobrium is often conditioned by historical circumstances, thus highlighting the fragility of reputations through revolutions.
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