Anisa Makhlouf

Imagine a very important family in a country called Syria. Anisa Makhlouf was the mom in this family! Her husband, Hafez al-Assad, was the President of Syria for a long, long time, from 1971 until the year 2000. That's longer than you've been alive! Anisa was like the First Lady during all those years. She was a very important person in the country's story.

Anisa's son, Bashar al-Assad, became the President after his dad. He was the leader of Syria from 2000 until very recently in 2024. So, Anisa was the mother and wife of two leaders of Syria! Her family was in charge of the country for over 50 years. That's a really, really long time for one family to be in charge of a whole country.

Anisa Makhlouf was born a long time ago, in 1930. She lived for many years, until 2016. Think about how many birthdays she had! She saw many big changes in the world during her life. She was a part of Syria's history for a very long time, from when she was a young person to when she was an older lady.

Anisa Makhlouf was known as the 'matriarch' of the Al-Assad family. That means she was the important mother figure. She was married to Hafez al-Assad, who was the President of Syria. Her son, Bashar al-Assad, also became President. She was the First Lady of Syria for 29 years!