Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad

Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad

Date	13 June 2000;25 years ago (2000-06-13)
Location	Damascus, Syria
Participants	Syrian officials and dignitaries from foreign countries

Hafez al-Assad, the 18th president of Syria, died in office on 10 June 2000 at the age of 69. His funeral was held three days later, with his son Bashar succeeding him as president.

Illness

Assad's health began to deteriorate in late 1983 due to diabetes and varicose veins. ^[1] He was taken to Al-Shami Hospital in Damascus and placed under intensive care. ^{[1] [ when? ]} He then transferred his powers during his absence to a committee consisting of five members from his close circle. ^[2]

Death and reactions

External videos
Announcement on Syrian television relayed by Israeli television part 1
Announcement on Syrian television relayed by Israeli television part 2

Hafez Assad's coffin.

Assad died from a heart attack on 10 June 2000. ^{[3] [4]} He was succeeded by Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam in a caretaker capacity until presidential elections were held. Several national leaders paid tribute as the leader's body lay in state in the People's Palace. ^{[5] [6]}

Following Assad's death, 40 days of mourning was declared in Syria and 7 days in Lebanon. ^[7] Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Libya, Iran, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Kuwait and Qatar announced three days of national mourning. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Funeral

Assad's funeral was held on 13 June in Damascus. ^{[11] [12]}

Dignitaries

States

Country	Dignitaries
Abu Dhabi	Crown Prince Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Algeria	President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Bahrain	Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa
Bulgaria	President Petar Stoyanov [13]
Canada	Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy [13]
China	President Jiang Zemin [14]
Egypt	President Hosni Mubarak Minister of Foreign Affairs Amr Moussa
France	President Jacques Chirac
Germany	Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer [13]
Iran	President Mohammad Khatami
Iraq	Vice President Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf
Japan	Minister of Foreign Affairs Yōhei Kōno
Jordan	King Abdullah II
Lebanon	President Émile Lahoud Prime Minister Salim al-Huss Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri
Kuwait	Emir Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Morocco	Speaker of Parliament Abdelwahed Radi
Netherlands	Minister of Foreign Affairs Jozias van Aartsen
Palestinian Authority	Chairman Yassir Arafat
Qatar	Prime Minister Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani
Russia	Chairman of the State Duma Gennadiy Seleznyov
Saudi Arabia	Crown Prince Abdullah
Sudan	President Omar Hassan al-Bashir
Switzerland	Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Joseph Deiss [13]
Turkey	President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
United Kingdom	Foreign Secretary Robin Cook [15]
United States of America	Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Yemen	President Ali Abdullah Saleh

Organizations

Organization	Dignitaries
European Union	President of the European Commission Romano Prodi
Hezbollah	Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah

Burial

Assad Mausoleum in Qardaha, Syria, before its destruction in 2024

Assad was buried in a mausoleum in his hometown Qardaha in Latakia Governorate, beside his eldest son Bassel al-Assad who died in 1994. ^{[11] [16]}

On 11 December 2024, after the overthrow of his son Bashar following 13 years of civil war, rebels set fire and burned Hafez al-Assad's tomb inside the mausoleum. ^{[17] [18]} Videos of armed men burning Assad's grave and urinating on it were published online. On 28 April 2025, videos and photos on social media showed his grave being exhumed by unidentified individuals. His remains were reportedly transferred to an unknown location. ^{[19] [20]}

See also

• Hafez al-Assad Government
• Presidency of Hafez al-Assad

References

1. "تاريخ أحزان الاسد ، بقلم: عادل حمودة". www.albayan.ae. 23 June 2000.
2. Martin Schram; Maralee Schwartz (6 December 1983). "Major Illness Said To Incapacitate Syrian President". The Washington Post . Washington, D.C. ISSN   0190-8286. OCLC   1330888409.
3. "Syria's President Assad dies". The Guardian .
4. MacFarquhar, Neil (11 June 2000). "Hafez al-Assad, Who Turned Syria Into a Power in the Middle East, Dies at 69". The New York Times.
5. agencies, Staff and (13 June 2000). "World pays tribute to Syrian dictator". the Guardian.
6. "فيما تولى الحرس الجمهوري مسؤولية الأمن في دمشق". www.al-jazirah.com.
7. "Bashar Al_Assad – THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT HAFEZ ASSAD". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
8. "Kuna :: Egypt Mourns the Death of Al-Assad 10/06/2000".
9. Sachs, Susan (11 June 2000). "TRANSITION IN SYRIA; Apprehension and Hope for Stability in Mideast". The New York Times.
10. "CNN Transcript – Special Event: The Death of Hafez Al-Assad – June 10, 2000". Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
11. "Syria's Assad laid to rest". UPI.
12. Freedman 2002, p. 105.
13. "Deiss attends Assad funeral". Swissinfo . 13 June 2000. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
14. "江泽民主席电唁叙利亚总统阿萨德逝世" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
15. "Britain's Cook pays last respects to Assad". UPI.
16. "BBC Arabic News | News | الرئيس الأسد يصل لمثواه الأخير". news.bbc.co.uk.
17. "Tomb of Assad's father set on fire in Syria hometown: AFP". LBCIV7. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
18. "Syria rebels burn tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez". www.bbc.com. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
19. "Grave of ex-Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad exhumed in Qardaha". The New Arab. 28 April 2025.
20. ARTSAKH.news (28 April 2025). "Assad's father's remains were removed from the grave and taken away". ARTSAKH.news. Retrieved 29 April 2025.

Works cited

• Freedman, R. (2002). The Middle East Enters the Twenty-first Century. University Press of Florida. ISBN   978-0-8130-3110-1.