Hafez al-Assad

Hafez al-Assad was a very important person in Syria, a country in the Middle East. He was like the captain of a big ship, leading Syria for a very long time. He was born a long, long time ago, in 1930, and he was the leader, called president, from 1971 until he passed away in the year 2000.

That's almost as long as you've been alive, and maybe even longer! He was also a military officer, which means he was in charge of soldiers and planes.

Hafez al-Assad became the leader of Syria in a few steps. First, he was part of a group that took control of the country. Then, he became the boss of the Syrian Air Force, which flies airplanes!

He was also involved in another change of leadership. Finally, he became the top leader, the president. He made big decisions about how Syria should get along with other countries and made sure his country was strong.

When Hafez al-Assad became president, he wanted to make Syria a strong and important country. He made friends with countries like the Soviet Union, which was a big country back then. He also wanted to help people called Palestinians who were having trouble with Israel. He made sure Syria had enough to eat and was safe. He was very good at making sure he stayed in charge for a long time.

Leaders often think about who will take over after them. Hafez al-Assad wanted his son to become the next leader. First, he thought his brother would take over, but that didn't happen. Then, he thought his oldest son would be the leader, but sadly, he had an accident. So, he chose his younger son, Bashar, to be the next president. Bashar took over when Hafez al-Assad died in 2000.