Fahd Jassem al-Freij | |
|---|---|
فهد جاسم الفريج | |
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| Member of theCentral Command of theBa'ath Party | |
| In office 22 April 2017 – 4 May 2024 | |
| 16thMinister of Defense | |
| In office 18 July 2012 – 1 January 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Riyad Farid Hijab Wael Nader al-Halqi Imad Khamis |
| Preceded by | Dawoud Rajiha |
| Succeeded by | Ali Abdullah Ayyoub |
| Chief of the General Staff of the Army and the Armed Forces | |
| In office 8 August 2011 – 18 July 2012 | |
| President | Bashar al-Assad |
| Defense Minister | Dawoud Rajiha |
| Preceded by | Dawoud Rajiha |
| Succeeded by | Ali Abdullah Ayyoub |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-01-17)17 January 1950 (age 75) |
| Political party | Ba'ath Party |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ba'athist Syria |
| Branch/service |  Syrian Arab Army |
| Years of service | 1968–2018 |
| Rank |  Colonel General |
| Unit | Armoured Corps |
| Commands | Special Forces Operations Staff |
| Battles/wars | Yom Kippur War Islamist uprising in Syria Syrian Civil War |
Fahd Jassem al-Freij (Arabic:فهد جاسم الفريج;[1] born 17 January 1950) is a retired Syrian military officer and the formerMinister of Defense ofSyria, took office on 18 July 2012 and left office on 1 January 2018.[2]
Freij was born inRahjan in aSunni Arab tribe on 17 January 1950. He joined theSyrian Arab Army in 1968, and graduated as an armoured corps lieutenant from theHoms Military Academy in 1971.
Freij attended different courses and a higher military education:
On 8 August 2011, Freij was appointedChief of Staff of the Syrian Arab Army during theSyrian civil war. In December 2011, defected Syrian Army officers reported that prior to his appointment of Chief of Staff, al-Freij commanded the Syrian Army Special Forces in the regions ofDaraa,Idlib andHama during the Syrian uprising.
His tenure was marked by large-scale military operations and indiscriminate violence against civilians, including the use ofbarrel bomb in densely populated areas.[3]
However, on 18 July 2012, after Defense MinisterDawoud Rajiha was assassinated in the2012 Damascus bombing, Freij was appointed by Bashar al-Assad to succeed Rajiha.[1] He was also named as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces.[4]
On 1 January 2018, Lieutenant GeneralAli Abdullah Ayyoub was the successor of al-Freij as Minister of Defense.[2]
In October 2023, French prosecutors at theJudicial Court of Paris charged Fahd Jassem Al-Freij and his successor Ali Ayyoub for their culpability in abarrel bomb in southwestern Syrian city ofDaraa that killed French-Syrian national Salah Abou Nabout at his home in 2017.[5]
| Arab Kingdom of Syria (1920) | |
|---|---|
| French Mandate of Syria (1920–1946) post established 1932 |  |
| First and Second Syrian Republic (1946–1958) | |
| United Arab Republic (1958–1961) | %2c_Flag_of_Syria_(1980%25E2%2580%25932024).svg) |
| Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963) | .svg) |
| Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024) post-1963 Syrian coup d'état | |
| Transitional period (2024–present) | .svg) |
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