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Bassel al-Assad
(Politician, Engineer)
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2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 23, 1962
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Damascus
Died: January 21, 1994
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Mahmoud Abbas
(President of the State of Palestine and Palestinian National Authority)
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4
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 26, 1935
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Safed
Despite growing up as a refugee after fleeing his hometown of Safed to Syria, amid the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Mahmoud Abbas went on to become a lawyer and later earned his PhD. The former prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority became its president after Yasser Arafat’s death.
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Nizar Qabbani
(Diplomat)
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7
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: March 21, 1923
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Damascus
Died: April 30, 1998
Nizar Qabbani was a Syrian writer, diplomat, publisher, and poet. Renowned for incorporating themes like eroticism, religion, love, feminism, and Arab nationalism into his poetry, Qabbani's poems have achieved worldwide acclaim; they have been translated into many languages, including English and Russian. Regarded as Syria's National Poet, Qabbani is also one of the most respected poets in the Arab world.
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Maher al-Assad
(Politician, Military personnel)
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Omar Bakri Muhammad
(Syrian Sunni Islamist Cleric Who Supported Terrorist Organizations in the UK)
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2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 1958 AD
Birthplace: Aleppo, Syria
A prominent Sunni Islamist cleric from Syria, Omar Bakri Muhammad had a significant contribution to the development of the pan-Islamist fundamental organization Hizb ut-Tahrir in the UK. He later switched to the Saudi Arabia-based militant group Al-Muhajiroun. He eventually fled to Lebanon, where he was sentenced to prison for terrorism.
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Rifaat al-Assad
(Syrian General Who Supposedly Supervised ‘Hama Massacre’ and Later Served as the Vice President of Syria)
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2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: August 22, 1937
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Al Qardahah, Syria
Syrian politician and former military personnel Rifaat Ali al-Assad, brother of late President of Syria, Hafez Assad, and uncle of current President Bashar al-Assad, served as Vice President of Syria from March 1984 to February 1998. According to some sources, he allegedly supervised Hama massacre (1982), carried out by the Syrian Army, resulting in suppression of Islamist insurgency in Syria.
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Rached Ghannouchi
(Political Figure)
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5
Listed In: Media Personalities
Birthdate: June 22, 1941
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Al-Hammah, Tunisia
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Nazim al-Qudsi
(Syrian Lawyer Who Led the Country as its President)
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1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: February 14, 1906
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Aleppo, Syria
Died: February 6, 1998
Initially a lawyer, Nazim al-Kudsi later stepped into politics, joining the National Bloc and then the People's Party. He went from being the Speaker of the Syrian Parliament to being the Syrian ambassador to the US, and eventually leading the nation as the prime minister and then as the president.
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Salah al-Din Bitar
(Syrian Politician and Co-founder of ‘Arab Ba'ath Party’ Who Served as Prime Minister)
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2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: January 1, 1912
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Damascus, Syria
Died: July 21, 1980
Syrian politician Salah al-Din al-Bitar, a noted theorist of Arab democratic nationalism, co-founded the Arab Ba'ath Party that espoused Baʿathism. al-Bitar served thrice as Prime Minister of Syria in Ba'athist governments, but later had differences with younger members of the party that grew more radical. He left Syria, lived in exile, however remained politically active till his assassination in 1980.
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Khalid Bakdash
(Syrian Communist Party Leader Who Was the First Communist Deputy of the Arab World)
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0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: November 15, 1912
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Damascus, Syria
Died: July 15, 1995
Expelled from law school due to illegal political activities, Syrian politician Khalid Bakdash later joined the Communist Party. He was jailed by the French but eventually emerged as the first Communist leader to be elected to an Arab parliament. He later had a tiff with fellow Communist leader Yusuf Faisal.
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Fatima Jibrell
(Environmentalist)
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1
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Intissar al-Wazir
(Palestinian Political Leader)
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2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: December 12, 1941
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Gaza, Palestine
Intissar al-Wazir is a Palestinian political leader best known for her service as the Social Affairs Minister of the State of Palestine from 1995 to 2005. Intissar al-Wazir is also credited with founding the General Union of Palestinian Women, which focuses on the economic, social, and legal status of women in Palestine.
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Nadine Salameh
(Actress)
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1
Listed In: Film & Theater Personalities
Birthdate: August 9, 1980
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Beirut, Lebanon
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Salwa Al Neimi
(Syrian Writer, Journalist, and Poet)
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0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 1950 AD
Birthplace: Damascus, Syria
Salwa Al Neimi is a Syrian writer, journalist, and poet. She is best known for her honest views on controversial and sensitive topics like sexuality, which are considered taboo in the Muslim world. Salwa Al Neimi achieved popularity after the release of her debut novel Burhān al-ʿasal, which was translated into several languages including English and French.
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Riad Ismat
(Syrian Writer, Theatre Director, Critic, and Diplomat)
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11
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: July 11, 1947
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Damascus, First Syrian Republic Syria
Died: May 13, 2020
Riad Ismat was a Syrian writer, theatre director, and critic. Also a political figure, Ismat served as the Minister of Culture from 2010 to 2012. Prior to his service as Minister of Culture, Riad Ismat served as Syrian ambassador to Pakistan and Qatar. A renowned playwright and theatre director, Riad Ismat is also credited with founding Syria's first mime troupe.
