Born and raised in London, Asma al-Assad , wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , is an elegant and very Western woman. She was considered one of the first first ladies to impose a modern style in the Arab world. Today, however, she is much criticized because she maintains a frivolous and superficial spirit in a country at war. WORLD PUBLIC PROFILE
Before the Syrian armed conflict took on the international dimension it is now, Asma had no limits in showing a very worldly public profile. She organized concerts, festivals and art exhibitions. She had a reputation for being a great Middle East renovator. She used a public profile on Facebook when the social network was banned in Syria. “THE ROSE IN THE DESERT” BY VOGUE
Above the knee skirts, short hats, flawless make-up, this slender woman’s style has always been very neat. The French magazine Elle judged the Syrian first lady as “a beauty icon”, while Vogue called her “a desert rose”. On social networks she posted photos while she hugged Nicolas Sarkozy, Brad Pitt, Barack Obama … until the riots of the Arab Spring. PAID MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Shortly after the portrait was published in Vogue, the New York Times claimed the article was part of a Syrian regime’s campaign to change the image of the first lady and had been paid for by an American public relations firm. with 5 thousand euros per month for several months. The portrait was deleted from the network and the directorAnna Wintour was forced to publish a statement condemning the cruelties of the Assad regime. TACCHI LOUBOUTIN AND HARRY POTTER
In 2012 some emails were filtered where the first lady was ordering a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes for $ 7,000 while 200 rebels died in the city of Homs. She bought jewelry, paintings and moved several officials to get a copy of the latest Harry Potter movie .
Since that moment, the communications of Asma, to safeguard the Syrian regime, have changed. So now the Instagram account of President Bashar’s wife shows her in black dresses, embracing older ladies and little girls. THE SUNNITA FAMILY OF HOMS
Born in 1975 in London, in a two-story house in Acton, a middle-class neighborhood in the west of the city, Asma is the daughter of a cardiologist, Fawaz Akhras , and of Sahar Akhras , the first secretary emeritus of Syria to the embassy in London. Both are originally from Homs. Her are Sunni Muslims and have always had direct contact with the London Islamic community. CAREER AT DEUTSCHE BANK AND JP MORGAN
Asma attended a Catholic school. According to the Heavy website, she is a graduate of King’s College in Computer Science and French Literature. In addition to French, she speaks Spanish, English and Arabic.
After university, Asma joined finance as an economic analyst for hedge funds in Europe and East Asia at Deutsche Bank and for two years at JP Morgan in London and New York. Her former colleagues say she was highly intelligent and competitive. THE MEETING WITH BASHAR
According to the Mirror website, Asma and Bashar met during a family vacation in Syria in 1994. The Syrian president, who was in London to study medicine, was 35 years old while Asma was 25 and was starting a promising career as a financial analyst. The Telegraph claims she had the opportunity to win an MBA at Harvard but she decided to marry Bashar in 2000 in Damascus. The couple has three children: Hafez , Zein and Karim. In 2012, the Telegraph published a series of photographs of their (quiet) private life. THE TWO FACES OF ASMA
In an interview for the Canadian newspaper National Post, Gaia Servadio , a British journalist who helps organize an art festival in Damascus promoted by Asma, said that the Syrian president’s wife “is an extraordinary woman, very clever. She is a very important presence for her husband and an innovative force “. For Andrew Tabler , an expert on Syria, “Asma al-Assad has two faces. On the one hand and a modern woman, definitely different from the other wives of Arab leaders. But she somewhere else she wants to be a princess ”. THANKS TO PUTIN
According to the Guardian, Asma was offered the option to leave Syria, but did not want to. She told the BBC that she stays close to her husband because her values and her moral principles impose it on her. From the Instagram account, you condemned the American military attack on April 6 in Syria. In an interview with Russia 24, he thanked in English ” Putin ‘s noble efforts to support the Assad regime […] There isn’t a family in Syria that hasn’t lost a loved one – Asma said in an interview a Russia 24 – Today parents attend their children’s funerals rather than their weddings ”.
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