Ali Mamlouk | |
|---|---|
علي مملوك | |
| Deputy Vice President for Security Affairs | |
| In office 9 July 2019 – 8 December 2024 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Prime Minister | Imad Khamis Hussein Arnous Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali |
| Preceded by | Mohammed Nasif Kheirbek |
| National Security and Military Advisor to thePresidency of theSyrian Arab Republic | |
| In office 18 January 2024 – 8 December 2024 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Preceded by | Ali Aslan |
| Director of theNational Security Bureau of theRegional Command | |
| In office 25 July 2012 – 9 July 2019 | |
| Regional Secretary Deputy | Bashar al-Assad Abdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh |
| Preceded by | Hisham Ikhtiar |
| Succeeded by | Mohammed Dib Zaitoun |
| Director of theGeneral Security Directorate | |
| In office June 2005 – July 2010 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Preceded by | Hisham Ikhtiar |
| Succeeded by | Zouheir Hamad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1946-02-19)19 February 1946 (age 79) Damascus,Syria |
| Political party | Ba'ath Party |
| Nickname | Abu Ayham |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ba'athist Syria |
| Branch/service | Syrian Arab Armed Forces |
| Years of service | 1970s–2005 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands | General Security Directorate (2005–2010) National Security Bureau (2012–2019) |
Ali Mamlouk (Arabic:علي مملوك; born 19 February 1946) is a Syrian intelligence officer and special security and military advisor toPresidentBashar al-Assad. He is reportedly one of Assad's most trusted associates. From 2012 to 2019, Mamlouk served as the head of theNational Security Bureau of the Ba'ath Party. On 9 July 2019, Mamlouk was appointed as the Syrian DeputyVice President for Security Affairs.[1][2]
Ali Mamlouk was born in Al-Bahsa,Damascus into aSunni family on 19 February 1946.[3][4] There is another report giving his birth year as 1945.[5][6] His family history goes back to Ahmed Pasha Al-Mamlouk a hundred years ago, who is buried in the Al-Mamlouk family graves in Al-Dahdah cemetery in Damascus.[7] His family also has branches in Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt.
Mamlouk is said to be one of the founding officers of the SyrianAir Force Intelligence in the 1970s. He was deputy director there,[5][8] when in June 2005 PresidentBashar al-Assad appointed him head of theGeneral Security Directorate.[9] In 2010, Gen. Mamlouk discussed efforts to increase co-operation betweenWashington, D.C. and Damascus on terrorism issues at a surprise meeting with US diplomats. He said the GID had been more successful at fighting terrorism in the region because "we are practical and not theoretical".[10]
Mamlouk was said to be on good terms with all of Syria's intelligence agencies; the heads of theAir Force Intelligence Directorate and thePolitical Security Directorate were once his assistants.[6] In July 2012 following theDamascus security HQ bombing, it was reported that Mamlouk would become the head of theNational Security Bureau with the rank of minister overseeing the entire security apparatus, and that formermilitary intelligence chiefAbdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh would become his assistant.[11][12]
Mamlouk is one of many officials sanctioned by theEuropean Union for their alleged actions against protesters participating in theSyrian revolution.[13][14][15] His agency had "repressed internal dissent, monitored individual citizens, and had been involved in the Syrian government'sSiege of Daraa, where protesters were killed by Syrian security services".[6] In addition, he was added tothe European Union's sanction list on 9 May 2011 on the grounds that he "involved in violence against demonstrators" during the war.[4]Swiss government also put him into sanction list in September 2011.[16] On 23 April 2012, the US government imposed sanctions on him, saying he had been responsible for human rights abuses, including the use of violence against civilians.[17]
In August 2012, Ali Mamlouk was accused of trying to blow up the situation in Lebanon in agreement with Lebanese MinisterMichel Samaha, who admitted to transporting explosives in his car to carry out assassinations of a list of people in agreement with Syria.[18][19] Samaha with the help of the former Lebanese Security Chief Jamil Al Sayyed "tried to carry out assassination" ofSamir Geagea,Saad Hariri andWissam al-Hassan.[20]
In May 2015, concern mounted regarding Mamlouk's whereabouts and health after not having been seen for some time, leading to comparisons withRustum Ghazaleh who recently met a violent and unclear death.[21] In July 2015, Mamlouk visitedJeddah in Saudi Arabia andMuscat in Oman and met with Saudi andGCC officials to discuss proposals for ending the Syrian Civil War.[22] In August 2015, Mamlouk visitedCairo and met PresidentAbdel-Fattah el-Sissi, senior security officials. Mamlouk and hisEgyptian counterparts reportedly discussed the fight against Islamic State, and against other Islamist factions, including theMuslim Brotherhood.[23]
In 2018, Maj. Gen. Mamlouk made a rare visit to Cairo to meet with his Egyptian counterpart,Abbas Kamel, director of theGIS with discussing “political, security and counterterrorism issues”.[24] Between 2021 and 2023, he held meetings with Saudi intelligence chiefKhalid bin Ali Al Humaidan, the first such since the outbreak of the civil war.[25] On 18 January 2024, President Bashar al-Assad appointed Mamlouk as a national security advisor,[26] and deputy vice president of the Syrian Arab Republic for security and military affairs.[27][1]
Following thefall of the regime, reports indicated that he fled Syria to Lebanon withHezbollah's assistance and eventually settled inDahieh, Beirut.[28]
On 11 August 2012, Lebanon indicted Ali Mamlouk in absentia and former Lebanese Information MinisterMichel Samaha for their alleged plots to assassinate Lebanese political and religious figures.[29] Lebanese judicial officials issued a warrant for Mamlouk's arrest on 4 February 2013.[30]
In November 2018,French prosecutors issuedinternational arrest warrants for three senior Syrian intelligence and government officials: Ali Mamlouk, Abdel Salam Mahmoud andJamil Hassan. The warrants brought charges including collusion in torture,forced disappearances, crimes against humanity and war crimes.[31] Four days of hearings at the ParisCour d'assises started on 21 May 2024,[32] and on May 25 all three men were convictedin absentia of involvement in the torture and killing of two French citizens in Syria.[33][34]
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