Ali Aslan

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.^[9][10] 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 reform^[2] and after reported clashes with Assef Shawkat^[12] 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.^[14][15]

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

Honours

National honours

• Syria:
  • Order of Civil Merit (Excellent class) (2021)^[17]

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". IPS. Archived from the original 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". Middle East Journal. 55 (4): 624–641. Archived from the original 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?". 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" (in Arabic). www.rozana.fm. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
17. ^ "قلّده الأسد وسام الاستحقاق لدوره كقائد عسكري.. من هو علي أصلان؟" (in Arabic). CNN Arabic. 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
18. ^ Political Chronology of the Middle East. Routledge. 2012. p. 2038. ISBN 978-1-135-35673-6.