Muhsen Bilal () (born 1944) is a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

, ambassador and Ba'athist politician.

Early life and education

Bilal was born into a prominent

Alawite Alawites () are an Arabs, Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate A ...

family in Burghalieh,

Tartus Governorate Tartus Governorate, also transliterated as Tartous Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ṭarṭūs''), is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Latakia Governorate to the north, Homs and Hama Governo ...

, in 1944. His father lived in Argentina between 1930 and 1936, where he worked as an Arabic teacher. He studied medicine at the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

, graduating in 1970. In 1976, he specialized in surgery in Italy. Then he received his PhD in medicine and surgery from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

with the specialization in

liver transplantation Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...

. Bilal married Dr. Faten Rustum, a prominent fellow doctor.

Career

After graduation, Bilal became the head of surgery at the Al Assad University Hospital. He then served as a professor of surgery at the faculty of medicine 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 ...

from 1977 to 2001. His political career started in 1977 when he was elected to the Peoples Assembly. In 1981, he was named the chairman of the Arab and foreign affairs committee, and served in this position until 1985. He led the Syrian delegation at the 1982 World Peace Conference in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In 2001, he became Syria's ambassador to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and he held this post until he was appointed minister of information to the cabinet headed by then prime minister Mohammad Naji Otari in February 2006. He replaced

Mahdi Dakhlallah Mahdi Dakhlallah (; born 1947) is a Syrian Ba'ath party politician and diplomat. He served at different positions, including editor-in-chief, information minister and ambassador. Early life and education Dakhlallah was born into a Sunni family i ...

as information minister. When Bilal was in office, he acted as chief spokesperson for the Syrian government during the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. Bilal's term ended in April 2011 when he was succeeded by Adnan Mahmoud.

Personal life

Bilal speaks Arabic, English, Spanish, and Italian.

References

External links

Interview in Italian as Syrian Minister of Information (November 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilal, Mohsen 1944 births Living people University of Padua alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Academic staff of Damascus University Ministers of information of Syria Ambassadors of Syria to Spain Syrian Alawites Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region Syrian surgeons 21st-century diplomats 21st-century Syrian politicians