Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Ali Mahmoud Abbas (; born 2 November 1964) is a Syrian senior

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

and politician who served as the 18th

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, succeeding

Ali Abdullah Ayyoub Lieutenant General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub (; born 28 April 1952) is a Syrian former military officer and politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Syria from 2020 to 2022, and was the Minister of Defense and was personally appointed by ...

. He is a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

Early life and education

Abbas was born in 1964 in Efra, Rif Dimashq. He joined the

Homs Military Academy Homs Military Academy () is a military educational and training institution located in Homs, Syria. History Establishment Homs Military Academy was founded in 1933 by France during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. During the period of Fren ...

, specialization of armored vehicles in 1983. He graduated with the rank of lieutenant on October 7, 1985. He first studied higher command in Pakistan in 1997. Between 2000 and 2001, he attended

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, UK for postgraduate studies in national defense. He also attended academic international crisis management course at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 2003. In 2004, he participated at the course in directing the state's defense in the Royal College,

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

, the Netherlands.

Military career

He was promoted to the rank of major general on 1 January 2018 and the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

on 30 April 2022. Upon his promotion to lieutenant general, he commanded the Internal Security Brigade for two years. Following his promotions, he assumed the command of the Military Academy for three years. He has occupied a number of high posts, the latest of which as Deputy Chief of the General Staff on 18 March 2021.

Minister of Defense

On 28 April 2022, Presidential Decree No. 115 was issued naming General Ali Mahmoud Abbas as Minister of Defense replacing

. During the 2023 Homs drone strike Abbas was in attendance at the graduation ceremony but left before the attack. He later visited the Abdul-Qader Shaqfa Military Hospital where several of the casualties were brought.

Sanctions

In June 2023, Abbas was sanctioned by the UK for “the systematic use of sexual and gender-based violence against civilians.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas, Ali Mahmoud 1964 births Living people People from Rif Dimashq Governorate Syrian generals Ministers of defense of Syria Syrian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Syrian Sunni Muslims Homs Military Academy alumni Missing Syrian people