Muhammad Zuhair Masharqa (; 1938 – 23 April 2007) was a

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 politician who served as

Vice President of Syria The vice president of Syria (), officially the vice president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is a political position in Syria. The Constitution of Syria states that in the case of the president's temporary disablement, the vice president may becom ...

from 1984 to 2006.

Early life and education

Masharqa came from a Sunni family. He received a bachelor's degree in education from

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 ...

in 1961. He also obtained a degree in law from

Aleppo University University of Aleppo (, also called Aleppo University) is a public university located in Aleppo, Syria. It is the second largest university in Syria after the University of Damascus. During 2005–06, the university had over 61,000 undergraduate ...

in 1968.

Career

His first public post was governor of

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

to which he was appointed in 1973. Masharqa became a member of the

Baath 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 ...

in 1975. Later he became deputy director of the party. Masharqa was appointed to the cabinet in 1978 as Minister of Education and became vice president for Domestic Affairs on 11 March 1984. He was the country's longest serving vice president, in office from 1984 to 2006, and was particularly noted for his loyalty to

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 ...

. After the death of Assad in 2000, a 9-member committee was formed to oversee the transition period, and Masharqa was among its members.

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 ...

chose to retain him as a vice president up to his retirement in 2006. He was replaced by Farouk Sharaa as vice president.

Personal life

Masharqa was married and had five children.

Death and burial

Masharqa died due to a massive heart attack in Damascus on 23 April 2007. His body was buried in

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masharqa 1938 births 2007 deaths Damascus University alumni University of Aleppo alumni Vice presidents of Syria Ministers of education of Syria Politicians from Aleppo Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region Syrian Sunni Muslims