Azzam al-Gharib () is a Syrian politician and former military commander. He was appointed Governor of

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' ) is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the t ...

on 21 December 2024 by Syria's transitional leadership, following the

fall of the Assad regime On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, major offensive by Syrian opposition, opposition forces. The offensive was spearheaded by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Turk ...

Early life and education

Al-Gharib was born in 1985 in Saraqib, a town in the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

northwest of Syria. He later moved to

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, where he completed a degree in dentistry at Aleppo University in 2006. He was arrested multiple times by the

Assad Asad (), sometimes written as Assad, is an Arabic male given name literally meaning "lion". It is used in nicknames such as ''Asad Allāh'', one of the by-names for Ali ibn Abi Talib. People Among prominent people named "Asad" or "Assad" a ...

regime between 2003 and 2006, spending time in the notorious

Far' Falastin Far' Falastine (), also known as Branch 235, was a prison operated by Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria), Military Intelligence Directorate of Ba'athist Syria under the charge of Brig. Gen. Kamal Hassan between 2017 and 2020, located in Dam ...

and

Air Force Intelligence Directorate The Air Force Intelligence Directorate () was an intelligence service of Ba'athist Syria from 1970 until 2024, owing its importance to Hafez al-Assad's role as the Air Force commander. Despite its name, it was mainly involved with issues other t ...

detention centers. His political activities and opposition to the regime made him a target, leading to his eventual involvement in the armed opposition. In addition to his dental studies, al-Gharib pursued Islamic studies, earning a master's degree in Quranic interpretation from

Bingöl University Bingöl University () is a university located in Bingöl, Turkey. It was established in 2007. The University is led by Prof. Dr. İbrahim Çapak. Bingol University, Web of Science database, according to 2019 data, 108 state universities in term ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He also studied Automated Control Engineering at Aleppo University but was unable to graduate due to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Career

Al-Gharib's political and military career began during the

Syrian revolution The Syrian revolution, also known as the Syrian Revolution of Dignity, was a series of mass protests and civilian uprisings throughout Syria – with a subsequent violent reaction by the Ba'athist regime – lasting from 15 March 2011 to 8 De ...

in 2011. Initially, he joined

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, was a coalition of multiple Sunni Islamist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bas ...

and the Islamic Front. He rose to deputy commander of the Islamic Front in 2015, but switched allegiance to the

Levant Front The Levant Front (, Jabhat al-Shamiyah, also translated as the Sham Front or the Levantine Front) was a Syrian revolutionary group based around Aleppo involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in December 2014. The northern branch of th ...

around 2017. He rose in the ranks of the Levant Front, first becoming deputy and then commander of the unit in 2023. As head of the Levant Front, he also rose to prominence within the

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA; ), also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups that participate in the Syrian civil war. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the sta ...

(SNA) and became leader of the SNA's Third Corps. After the

, he was appointed governor of Aleppo.

References

{{reflist 1985 births Living people People from Idlib Governorate University of Aleppo alumni 21st-century Syrian politicians Governors of Aleppo

Early life and education

Career

See also

References