Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad

Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad
Date13 June 2000; 24 years ago (2000-06-13)
LocationDamascus, Syria
ParticipantsSyrian officials and dignitaries from foreign countries

Hafez al-Assad, the 18th president of Syria, died from a heart attack on 10 June 2000 at the age of 69.[1][2] His funeral was held three days later in Damascus, and he was buried in a mausoleum in his hometown Qardaha in Latakia Governorate, beside his eldest son Bassel al-Assad who died in 1994.[3][4]

External videos
video icon Announcement on Syrian television relayed by Israeli television part 1
video icon Announcement on Syrian television relayed by Israeli television part 2

He was succeeded by vice president Abdul Halim Khaddam in a caretaker capacity until presidential elections were held. Several national leaders paid tribute as the leader's body lay in state in the People's Palace.[5][6]

Following Assad's death, 40 days of mourning was declared in Syria and 7 days in Lebanon.[7] Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Libya, Iran, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Kuwait and Qatar announced three days of national mourning.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][excessive citations] His funeral was held three days later.[20]

Illness and death

President Al-Assad's health began to deteriorate in late 1983 due to diabetes and varicose veins.[21] He was taken to Al-Shami Hospital in Damascus and placed under intensive care.[21][when?] Then he transferred his powers during his absence to a committee consisting of five members from his close circle.[22]

Funeral

Dignitaries

States
Country Dignitaries
 Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
 Algeria President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
 Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa
 Bulgaria President Petar Stoyanov[23]
 Canada Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy[23]
 China President Jiang Zemin[24]
 Egypt President Hosni Mubarak
Minister of Foreign Affairs Amr Moussa
 France President Jacques Chirac
 Germany Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer[23]
 Iran President Mohammad Khatami
 Iraq Vice President Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf
 Japan Minister of Foreign Affairs Yōhei Kōno
 Jordan King Abdullah II
 Lebanon President Émile Lahoud
Prime Minister Salim al-Huss
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri
 Kuwait Emir Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
 Morocco Speaker of Parliament Abdelwahed Radi
 Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Jozias van Aartsen
 Palestinian Authority Chairman Yassir Arafat
 Qatar Prime Minister Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani
 Russia Chairman of the State Duma Gennadiy Seleznyov
 Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Abdullah
 Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir
  Switzerland Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Joseph Deiss[23]
 Turkey President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
 United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Robin Cook[25]
 United States of America Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
 Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Organizations
Organization Dignitaries
 European Union President of the European Commission Romano Prodi
 Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah

Burial

Assad Mausoleum in Qardaha, Syria, before its destruction in 2024

He was buried in a mausoleum in his hometown Qardaha in Latakia Governorate, beside his eldest son Bassel al-Assad who died in 1994.

On 11 December 2024, the mausoleum was set on fire by Syrian rebels following the overthrow of his son and successor Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Syria's President Assad dies". The Guardian.
  2. ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (11 June 2000). "Hafez al-Assad, Who Turned Syria Into a Power in the Middle East, Dies at 69". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Syria's Assad laid to rest". UPI.
  4. ^ "BBC Arabic News | News | الرئيس الأسد يصل لمثواه الأخير". news.bbc.co.uk.
  5. ^ agencies, Staff and (13 June 2000). "World pays tribute to Syrian dictator". the Guardian.
  6. ^ "فيما تولى الحرس الجمهوري مسؤولية الأمن في دمشق". www.al-jazirah.com.
  7. ^ "Bashar Al_Assad – THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT HAFEZ ASSAD". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Kuna :: Egypt Mourns the Death of Al-Assad 10/06/2000".
  9. ^ Sachs, Susan (11 June 2000). "TRANSITION IN SYRIA; Apprehension and Hope for Stability in Mideast". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "CNN Transcript – Special Event: The Death of Hafez Al-Assad – June 10, 2000". Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  11. ^ "KUNA : OMAN DECLARES THREE DAYS MOURNING FOR SYRIA – Politics – 10/06/2000".
  12. ^ "BBC NEWS | Middle East | Assad: Mourned by friends and foes".
  13. ^ "Libya Declares Three-Day National Mourning For Assad". AllAfrica.
  14. ^ "KUNA : IRAN ANNOUNCES 3 DAYS OF MOURNING FOR ASSAD – General – 11/06/2000".
  15. ^ "KUNA : MOROCCO DECLARES THREE DAYS MOURNING ON AL-ASSAD'S DEATH – Politics – 11/06/2000".
  16. ^ "KUNA : UAE MOURNS AL-ASSAD DEATH – Politics – 10/06/2000".
  17. ^ "KUNA : YEMEN MOURNS THE DEATH OF AL-ASSAD – Politics – 10/06/2000".
  18. ^ "Kuna :: Kuwati Declares Three Days of Mourning on Assad's Death 10/06/2000".
  19. ^ "KUNA : QATAR MOURNS DEATH OF AL-ASSAD – Politics – 10/06/2000".
  20. ^ Freedman 2002, p. 105.
  21. ^ a b "تاريخ أحزان الاسد ، بقلم: عادل حمودة". www.albayan.ae. 23 June 2000.
  22. ^ Martin Schram; Maralee Schwartz (6 December 1983). "Major Illness Said To Incapacitate Syrian President". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  23. ^ a b c d "Deiss attends Assad funeral". Swissinfo. 13 June 2000. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  24. ^ "江泽民主席电唁叙利亚总统阿萨德逝世" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Britain's Cook pays last respects to Assad". UPI.
  26. ^ "ضريح حافظ يحترق في القرداحة.. مسلحون ينتحلون صفة أمنية يعتدون على المواطنين وممتلكاتهم في مسقط رأس النظام السابق | المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان". المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (in Arabic). 11 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.

Works cited

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