Firas Tlass
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Firas Tlass (; born 20 August 1960) is a Syrian businessman and a member of a significant Sunni family who had close relations with former Syrian President
Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...
, but defected to the rebels during the Syrian Civil War.


Early life and education

Firas Tlass was born in Damascus on 20 August 1960. He is the second eldest child of
Mustafa Tlass Mustafa Abdul Qadir Tlass (; 11 May 1932 – 27 June 2017) was a Syrian military officer, author, historian and politician who was Ba'athist Syria's minister of defense from 1972 to 2004. He was part of the four-member Regional Command during th ...
, a former Syrian Minister of Defense from 1972 to 2004 of Circassian and Turkish origin. Next to the Assad clan, his family was the most famous Sunni family in Syria, known for supporting the government. On the other hand, the members of his family worked for the Ottoman suzerains as well as French occupiers after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Manaf Tlass, who was a senior military official and defected in July 2012, is his younger brother. He attended Ecole Laique in Damascus, graduating in 1978. He studied business administration at
Damascus University Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...
, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in economy in 1984. He went to France to study French and obtained a degree in commerce from Paris.


Career

Tlass is described as a business tycoon and Syria's sugar king. He was one of the richest men in Syria. Tlass was a significant supporter and also, beneficiary of Bashar al-Assad's liberal economy policies over the past decade. Tlass founded Min Ajl Suriyya (MAS) (“For Syria” in English) in 1984. MAS deals with different commercial activities, ranging from roasting coffee beans to producing metal, canned food, and dairy products. In 2004, Tlass also began to provide financial assistance to the website '' Syria News'' that was owned by the Syrian Economic Center (SEC). In 2010, he launched EFG Hermes Syria with EFG Hermes, the leading Egyptian investment bank in the Arab world. It was reported that EFG Hermes Syria was a partnership between EFG Hermes (70%) and Firas Tlass (30%). Tlass became the chairman of the firm. Additionally, Tlass was the local joint venture partner for French cement company Lafarge. He is also Chairman of Palmyra-SODIC. His other business activity is the Palmyra real estate development company, of which he is the general manager. Since 1999, Tlass started some business relations with Iraq and participated in some commercial and industrial contracts between Syria and Iraq. Tlass is a former member of the
Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
. However, in 2005, he and another Baath member, Abdel Nour, argued that they supported multi-party elections and ending the Baath monopoly on power in Syria. Firas Tlass also said that the relations with the US should be better. In 2012, the New York Times reported that Firas and his brother, Brigadier General Manaf Tlass had defected. They were regarded by Bashar al-Assad as peers and friends.


Controversy

From 2012 to 2014, Lafarge's factory in Jalabiya, northern Syria, continued to operate as the Syrian war raged around it. Factory chief Bruno Pescheux has admitted Lafarge paid up to $100,000 a month to Syrian tycoon Firas Tlass, a former minority shareholder who gave cash to armed factions in order to keep the factory open.


Defection and views

AFP reported that Firas and his father, former defense minister Mustafa Tlass, arrived in Paris in March 2012. Reuters characterized the move as defection, reporting that Mustafa Tlass left for France claiming to need medical care and Firas left for
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Reports place him Firas in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, in France with his father, and indicate travels between the United Arab Emirates and France. His younger brother Manaf Tlass, a Syrian officer, defected from the Assad government and fled to France via Turkey in July 2012. On 26 July 2012, Firas Tlass expressed his support for Bashar Al Assad's resignation. He further declared that he had provided the Farouq Brigades in the
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...
, commanded by his cousin Abdul Razzak Tlass, with the humanitarian and relief aid. On 8 March 2013, he told
Al Arabiya Arabiya (, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group. The channel is a flagship of the media c ...
that Syria had secret business deals with
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.


Personal life

Tlass is married to Lubna Alsoufi, a member of one of the leading Sunni families from Lattakia. He was married before to Rania Al Jabiri since 1984 until they divorced in March 2012. He has five children with her: Yara (born 1989), Mira and Lara (twins, born 1991), Yasmine (born 1998) and Mustafa (born 2000).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tlass, Firas 20th-century Syrian politicians 21st-century Syrian businesspeople 1960 births Living people Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region politicians Syrian people of Circassian descent Syrian people of Turkish descent Damascus University alumni Syrian Sunni Muslims People of the Syrian civil war Syrian defectors Firas Syrian corporate directors