Hafez Bashar al-Assad (; born 5 December 2001) is the eldest son of former

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 ...

n president

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

and his wife Asma al-Assad. He was regarded as a potential successor to his father before 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 ...

on 8 December 2024.

Early and personal life

Assad was born in Damascus on 5 December 2001. He was named after his grandfather, former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Syria

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 ...

. In his youth, he attended a

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

school alongside his sister and brother. They also attended a language school in the Baramkeh district of Damascus. Assad is fluent in Arabic and English. He also speaks

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and studies Chinese. In 2020, Assad was placed under sanctions by the U.S.

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

in connection with previous sanctions targeting his father's regime. As a result, he is not allowed to travel to or own assets in the United States. In December 2024, his family fled Syria following the

and joined him in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia. After the collapse of the Assad regime, he posted on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

about a series of events detailing his family's final moments before escaping to Moscow. He said, "There was no plan, not even a backup, to leave Damascus, let alone Syria." His Twitter account was suspended after he described the family's last days in the country before the rebel takeover. After the suspension, he appeared in a short video on 12 February 2025, to address concerns about whether the detailed post on social media was from a fake account or actually his. He clarified that both the Twitter account and

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

were his, and that he didn't have any other accounts or use any other social media platforms.

Mathematics competitions

Assad has described mathematics to the media as his "childhood passion." He participated in the

International Mathematical Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. It is widely regarded as the most prestigious mathematical competition in the wor ...

, representing Syria, from 2016 to 2018. * 2016 International Mathematical Olympiad (

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

) – He placed 355th out of 602 overall and 4th out of 6 on the Syrian team. * 2017 International Mathematical Olympiad (

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

) – He placed 528th out of 615 overall and 6th out of 6 on the Syrian team. * 2018 International Mathematical Olympiad (

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

) – He placed 486th out of 594 overall and 6th out of 6 on the Syrian team. Assad's participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad has been criticized by some outside observers, viewing his inclusion on the Syrian team as the result of

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

. However, this was denied by a representative of the Syrian government, claiming that Assad qualified in fair competition for a space on the team.

Public life

Assad received media attention in 2013 when a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

account attributed to him posted a criticism of the U.S. military in the wake of the

Ghouta chemical attack The Ghouta chemical attack was a chemical attack carried out by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in the early hours of 21 August 2013 in Ghouta, Syria during the Syrian civil war. Two opposition-controlled areas in the subur ...

. However, both Syrian opposition figures and outside media sources questioned whether the since-deleted account was authentic. During the 2017 IMO, Assad was interviewed by Brazilian newspaper ''

O Globo ''O Globo'' (, ''The Globe'') is a Brazilian newspaper based in Rio de Janeiro. ''O Globo'' is the leading daily newspaper in the country and the most prominent print publication in the Grupo Globo media conglomerate. Founded by journalist Ir ...

''. When asked if his father is a dictator, he defended him saying: "I know what kind of man my father is. People say a lot of things, many are blind. But that's not reality". He also took his father's side in conflict, saying: "It's not a civil war, it's people taking over our home. It's a war against the people. The population and the government are united against the invaders who are taking over the country."

Education

In 2015, Assad received his primary education certificate from Naeem Maasarani School in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

with a final grade of 2,983 out of 3,100. In 2018, Assad received his secondary education certificate from Sawa and Montessori School in

with a final grade of 2,672 out of 2,900. In 2016, it was announced that Assad would complete his higher education in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Before he matriculated to

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, he studied for a period of time at the Higher Institute for Applied Sciences and Technology in

. In 2023, Assad graduated with a master's degree in mathematics from the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of

with honors. He graduated on an accelerated schedule, completing his final two years in a single year. He wrote his thesis on the topic of

number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

. In November 2024, he successfully defended his

doctoral dissertation A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

on number theory, titled ''Arithmetic Questions of Polynomials in Algebraic Number Fields'', at Moscow State University. Assad dedicated his thesis "to the martyrs of the

Syrian Arab Army The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; ) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024. They served during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria. The SAAF consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air D ...

, without whose selfless sacrifices none of us would exist".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assad, Hafez II Living people 2001 births

Hafez (), known by his pen name Hafez ( or 'the keeper'; 1325–1390) or Hafiz, “Ḥāfeẓ” designates someoone who has learned the Qurʾān by heart" also known by his nickname Lisan al-Ghaib ('the tongue of the unseen'), was a Persian lyri ...

Children of presidents of Syria Moscow State University alumni People from Damascus Syrian exiles Syrian expatriates in Russia Syrian mathematicians