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Ali Aslan

Ali Aslan is a retired Syrian military officer. He served as chief of staff of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, and was a member of the Central Committee of the Ba'ath Party and a close confidant of the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad.

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Ali Aslan
علي أصلان‎
Aslan in 2000
Chief of the General Staff of the Syrian Arab Army
In office
1998–2002
PresidentHafez al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad
Preceded byHikmat al-Shihabi
Succeeded byHasan Turkmani
Military Advisor to the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic
In office
2003–2023
PresidentBashar al-Assad
Succeeded byAli Mamlouk
Personal details
Born1932 (age 93–94)
Latakia, French Mandate of Syria
PartyBa'ath Party
SpouseAlmaza Kamel Hassan (d. 2024)1
Military service
Allegiance Second Syrian Republic (1954–1958)
United Arab Republic (1958–1961)
Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963)
Ba'athist Syria (1963–2002)
Branch/service Syrian Army
Years of service
1954–2002
Rank Lieutenant general
Unit8th Infantry Brigade
1st Infantry Division
5th Mechanized Division
2nd Corps
Battles/wars

Ali Aslan (Arabic: علي أصلان; born 1932) is a retired Syrian military officer. He served as chief of staff of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, and was a member of the Central Committee of the Ba'ath Party and a close confidant of the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad.2

Aslan was not only considered to be powerful member of the late Hafez al-Assad's inner circle, but he was also regarded by outside observers as having significantly improved Syrian military readiness while operating under severe financial constraints.3

Early life

Aslan hails from an Alawite family which is part of the same Kalbiyya tribe as Hafez al-Assad.4 He was born in 1932.5

Career

Aslan commanded 5th mechanized infantry in 1973.6

At the beginning of the 1980s Aslan was deputy chief of staff and head of operations.7

After the death of Hafez al-Assad in 2000, a 9-member committee was formed to oversee the transition period, and Aslan was among its members.8 In addition, he became a member of the Baath Party's central committee in the Summer of 2000.910 Aslan was one of the senior officials, who contributed to secure the rule of Bashar al-Assad.11 However, he was relieved from his post as chief of staff by Bashar al-Assad in January 2002, as part of the younger president's program of reform2 and after reported clashes with Assef Shawkat12 regarding personnel changes.3 Aslan was replaced by his then deputy, Hassan Turkmani.3 Aslan was later appointed military advisor to the president.13 In June 2005, Aslan was removed from the central committee of the Baath Party, and he retired from politics.1415

His nephew Qusay was married to Bashar al-Assad's cousin, Falak Jamil, but they divorced.16

Honours

National honours

References

References

18

  1. باسم السيد الرئيس #بشار_الأسد والسيدة الأولى #أسماء_الأسد قدم محافظ #اللاذقية المهندس عامر هلال التعازي بوفاة السيدة ألماظة كامل حسن، زوجة العماد علي أصلان، رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة الأسبق.
  2. Faure, Claude (2002). Dictionary of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Culture, History, and Politics. Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-02-865977-5.
  3. Gambill, Gary C. (February 2002). "The Military-Intelligence Shakeup in Syria". Middle East Intelligence Bulletin. 4 (2). Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  4. Anthony H. Cordesman (2002). Peace and War: The Arab-Israeli Military Balance Enters the 21st Century. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-275-96939-4.
  5. Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview" (PDF). IPS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  6. Hanna Batatu (1999). Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics. Princeton University Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-691-00254-5.
  7. Jubin M. Goodarzi (2006). Syria and Iran: Diplomatic Alliance and Power Politics in the Middle East. I.B.Tauris. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-84511-127-4.
  8. "Bashar Aims to Consolidate Power in the Short-Term and to Open up Gradually". APS Diplomat News Service. 19 June 2000. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  9. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman (2002). Middle East Contemporary Survey, Vol. 24, 2000. The Moshe Dayan Center. p. 558. ISBN 978-965-224-054-5.
  10. Alan George (2003). Syria: Neither Bread Nor Freedom. Zed Books. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-84277-213-3.
  11. Ghadbian, Najib (Autumn 2001). "The New Asad: Dynamics of Continuity and Change in Syria" (PDF). Middle East Journal. 55 (4): 624–641. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  12. Pan, Esther (10 March 2006). "Syria's Leaders". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  13. Moubayed, Sami M. (2006). Steel and Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900-2000. Cune Press. p. 40. ISBN 1-885942-41-9.
  14. Moubayed, Sami (July 2005). "Syria: Reform or Repair?" (PDF). Arab Reform Bulletin. 3 (6). Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  15. Hinnebusch, Raymond (2011). "The Ba'th Party in Post-Ba'thist Syria: President, Party and the Struggle for 'Reform'". Middle East Critique. 20 (2): 109–125. doi:10.1080/19436149.2011.572408. S2CID 144573563.
  16. "صاحبة "الأنثى والمحتال".. قصة فلك الأسد مع الشعر والسياسة - روزنة". www.rozana.fm (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  17. "قلّده الأسد وسام الاستحقاق لدوره كقائد عسكري.. من هو علي أصلان؟". CNN Arabic (in Arabic). 25 June 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  18. Political Chronology of the Middle East. Routledge. 2012. p. 2038. ISBN 978-1-135-35673-6.