Dossier: Bushra Assad

Mohamad Daoud is a former Syrian diplomat and journalist specializing in Arab politics.

One of the most distinctive characteristics of Syria's government is the opacity of its underlying authority structure. While there is little doubt as to who is calling the shots in Jordan or Egypt, the question of how major decisions are made in Damascus remains shrouded in mystery.

Although President Bashar Assad is nominally in charge, real power rests within a small inner circle. Military Intelligence Chief Assef Shawkat is widely viewed as the most influential member of this circle, but his influence is partially derivative of the fact that he is married to Bashar's older sister Bushra. Though she shuns the spotlight, her behind-the-scenes political influence has been decisive at times.

Born in October 1960, Bushra was the late Hafez Assad's second child (the first, also named Bushra, died as an infant). Although four brothers followed in succession (Basel, Bashar, Maher, and Majd), she is the only sibling widely regarded as having a comparable intellect. Sharing her father's combination of steely resolve and romanticism, she enjoyed a close personal connection with him. According to an informed source, she helped convince her father that jailing her uncle, Rifaat, after his failed 1984 coup attempt would disgrace the family.

Women in the Assad family have traditionally been hidden from the spotlight. Hafez Assad rarely appeared in public with either his wife or his daughter, leading many Syrians to speculate that they were unattractive or inelegant. Bushra was neither. Former schoolmates recall her as extremely pretty, charming, and "politically inspired."

During her studies at Damascus University (where she received her degree in pharmacy in 1982), Bushra formed friendships with many of Syria's brightest new minds, most notably a young professor of English literature, Buthaina Shaaban, whose subsequent entry into government and advancement (she is a minister) reflected Bushra's influence.

Sometime in the late 1980s, Shaaban introduced Bushra to Assef Shawkat, an army officer 10 years her senior who frequented literary circles. Although Shawkat was married and a father of five, Bushra fell madly in love with him. However, Shawkat's age, marital status, and reputation for womanizing outraged the Assad family, especially her oldest brother, Basel. When she announced her intention to marry him, they drew the line. Basel had Shawkat arrested and jailed three times to prevent them from seeing each other, but his willingness to take seemingly suicidal risks too see Bushra only reinforced her love and admiration for him. In desperation, according to one widespread rumor, Basel brutally beat his sister after finding the two together. At any rate, she fell into deep depression and was believed to have attempted suicide.

Basel's death in a 1994 car accident changed everything (fueling much half-joking speculation about a link between Bushra and the failed brake mechanism in his car). Although Assad disapproved of Shawkat, after Basel's death he was unwilling to risk losing his daughter as well and reluctantly sanctioned their marriage, which took place in early 1995. It is said that the blessing was the only thing Assad did against his will in his life. The marriage was not covered, or even mentioned, in the state-run Syrian media - Shawkat's entry into the family was grudgingly accepted, not celebrated.

Bushra sprung back to life after Basel's death and her marriage to Shawkat. She is said to have played a major role in guiding the development of Syria's pharmaceutical industry, which has made the country almost self-sufficient in the production of medicines. Her primary concern was elevating the status of her husband, who received accelerated military promotions and quickly proved his worth in the intelligence field. Bushra helped cultivate a solid friendship between Shawkat and Bashar, who returned home from his medical studies in London to take Basel's place as heir apparent. In the late 1990s, Maj. Gen. Shawkat was put in charge of security aspects of peace talks with Israel and, more importantly, the interior section of Syrian military intelligence. As Assad's health began to fail, he played a major role in identifying and purging potentially disloyal elements of the security apparatus, warding off a succession struggle.

Shawkat's rise from nowhere to the regime's most powerful strongman was resented by many, none more so than Bushra's brother Maher, who aspired to become the right hand man of Bashar, much as his uncle Rifaat was for his father. In October 1999, a denigrating remark about Rifaat by Shawkat at a family gathering touched off a shouting match with Maher that ended with the latter pulling out a revolver and shooting his brother-in-law in the stomach. Shawkat was rushed to France for many weeks of intense medical treatment. Nevertheless, Bushra managed to bring about a truce between Shawkat and Maher.

As Assad's death loomed, Bushra persuaded her father to eliminate remaining barriers to Shawkat's influence. The main obstacle within military intelligence was its veteran chief, Gen. Ali Douba. Although Douba had reached the mandatory retirement age of 67, he was slated to retain his post in early 2000. According to Arab media reports, a decree extending his tenure until the age of 70 was "put on the president's desk for him to sign," but at the last minute Assad changed his mind and appointed a figurehead to the post, Maj. Gen. Hassan Khalil, enabling Shawkat to exercise de facto control from behind the scenes.[1]

After Assad's death, Bushra's influence ensured that Shawkat was not sidelined as Bashar consolidated his authority. Al-Quds al-Arabi reported that Bashar issued a presidential decree naming Shawkat chief of air force intelligence in the fall of 2000 (a "promotion" that would have curbed his influence in the security apparatus), but reversed it after she intervened.[2] Her support for Shawkat stemmed not just from loyalty to her husband, but also from her conviction that he is a necessary compliment to Bashar's indecisiveness and lack of political experience, and therefore vital to keeping the Assad family on the political surface.

Although Shawkat replaced Khalil as head of military intelligence in February 2005, fallout from the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri that same month threatened to undermine his position in the regime. When Shawkat was implicated in the UN investigative commission's October 2005 interim report on the killing, there was considerable speculation that Bashar might turn him over in order to appease the West and alleviate tensions with the Saudis, followed by reports of a "palace coup" by Bushra to prevent Shawkat from even being questioned by UN investigators.[3] Slow progress in the investigation has alleviated this pressure, and Shawkat's position appears secure today.

Although there have been reports of tensions between Shawkat and Maher (mostly over patronage appointments in the security apparatus), the two have resolved these disputes smoothly (often with Bushra's intercession) and in the last year seem to have warmly reconciled.

However, there have been reports of tensions between Bushra and Bashar's wife, Asmaa. Since her marriage to the Syrian president in late 2000, Asmaa has defied social conventions by frequently appearing in public and in the media. According to several reports on opposition internet sites, early this year Bushra began asking her brother to prohibit his wife from participating in public activities and oblige her to stay in the presidential palace to raise her children. She also managed (possibly through Shawkat) to persuade several state-run media outlets to give little or no coverage to Asmaa's social activities, apparently by arguing that the London-raised Asmaa does not have sufficient command of the Arabic language to express herself appropriately. Bushra has for years prevented Asmaa from using the title "first lady" out of respect for her mother, Anisa Makhlouf, whose first public appearance in 12 years in April (at the opening of ceremony of the permanent office of the Arab Women's Union) appears linked to the dispute.[4]

Notes

  [1] "Exit of Syria's military intelligence chief leaves Assad's son-in-law as de facto boss," Mideast Mirror, 14 February 2000.
  [2] Al-Quds al-Arabi, cited in "Syria: More of the same under Bashshar," Mideast Mirror, 15 September 2000.
  [3] Elaph web site (London), 5 January 2006.
  [4] "Anisa Makhlouf appears as "First Lady," Asma Assad pushed away, Levant News, 16 April 2006.