Walid Muallem | |
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وليد المعلم | |
.jpg) Muallem in 2009 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Syria | |
| In office 23 June 2012 – 16 November 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Riyad Farid Hijab Wael Nader al-Halqi Imad Khamis Hussein Arnous |
| Preceded by | Abdullah al-Dardari |
| Succeeded by | Ali Abdullah Ayyoub |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates | |
| In office 14 April 2011 – 16 November 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Adel Safar Riyad Farid Hijab Wael Nader al-Halqi Imad Khamis Hussein Arnous |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Minister of Foreign Affairs) Joseph Sweid (as Minister of Expatriates) |
| Succeeded by | Faisal Mekdad[1] |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 21 February 2006 – 29 March 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Muhammad Naji al-Otari |
| Preceded by | Farouk al-Sharaa |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates) |
| Ambassador of Syria to the United States | |
| In office 1 January 1990 – 31 December 2000 | |
| President | Hafez al-Assad Abdul Halim Khaddam (Acting) Bashar al-Assad |
| Preceded by | Rafic Jouejati |
| Succeeded by | Rustum Al-Zubi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Walid Mohi Edine al Muallem (1941-01-13)13 January 1941 |
| Died | 16 November 2020(2020-11-16) (aged 79) Damascus,Syria |
| Political party | Ba'ath Party |
| Other political affiliations | National Progressive Front |
| Spouse | Sawsan Khayat |
| Children | 3 |
| Nickname | Abu Tarek |
Walid Mohi Edine al Muallem[2] (Arabic:وليد محيي الدين المعلم,romanized: Walīd Muḥīyy ad-Dīn al-Muʿallem; 13 January 1941 – 16 November 2020) was aSyrian diplomat andBa'ath Party member who served asforeign minister from 2006 to 2020 and asdeputy prime minister from 2012 to 2020.
Walid Muallem was born into aSunni family on 13 January 1941 inDamascus.[3] He received primary and secondary education in public schools from 1948 to 1960, then obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics fromCairo University in 1963.[4]
Muallem was a member of theSyrian Regional Branch of theArab Socialist Ba'ath Party.[5] Muallem began his career at foreign ministry in 1964 and served in Syrian missions toTanzania,Saudi Arabia,Spain and theUnited Kingdom.[2] During his tenure in Saudi Arabia Muallem was a political attache.[6] In May 1967 he and another Syrian political attache in Saudi Arabia, Jaber Bajbuj, were declaredpersona non grata by the Saudi authorities due to their alleged contacts with Ba'ath agents in Saudi Arabia, and both were ordered to leave the country within 24 hours.[6]
He served as Syria's Ambassador toRomania from 1975 to 1980. Next he became the head of authentication and translation department at the foreign ministry in 1980 and his term ended in 1984.[2] Later he served as the head of private offices department from 1984 to 1990. Muallem served as Syria's ambassador to theUnited States from 1990 to 2000, and was present at the signing of theOslo Accords in 1993.[7] He was then named as assistant foreign minister in 2000. He was appointed deputy foreign minister in 2005[4] and given the Lebanese file by presidentBashar al-Assad.[8]
He was appointed asminister of foreign affairs on 11 February 2006 during a cabinet reshuffle in which his predecessorFarouk al-Sharaa became vice-president.[2][9] Muallem stated in August 2006, "I am ready to be one of Hassan Nasrallahʹs soldiers."[10] He also stated that Syria has a special relationship withIran.[10] He was involved in Israeli-Syrian negotiations, both before and during his tenure as foreign minister.[11]
Early on in theSyrian civil war, Muallem held frequent press conferences withSyrian media and Arab outlets.[12] In August 2012, Muallem gave his first interview with a Western journalist since the start of the civil war,[13] in English, saying that "I tell the Europeans: '... I don't understand your slogan of fighting international terrorism when you are supporting this terrorism in Syria'" and stating the government's position that the United States was "the major player against Syria" as it sought to containIran. He denied the existence of theShabiha, pro-government, paid militiamen alleged to have committed atrocities early on during the civil war while blaming 60% of Syria's violence onTurkey,Qatar andSaudi Arabia "with the United States exercising its influence over all others."[13]
In October 2012, afterUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon urged Syria to show compassion in light of the growing humanitarian crisis, Muallem spoke at theUnited Nations and blamed the United States,France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar for "aid[ing] terror" and "blatant interference" in Syria's affairs, mainly by supplying rebel groups with arms and money calling for Bashar al-Assad to step down.[14][15] He called Western concerns overchemical weapons use "a joke" and a pretext for anIraq War-like campaign.[16] Later that month, Muallem also rejected calls by Ban to declare a unilateral ceasefire, insisting that governments that "finance, train and deliver weapons to the armed groups, notably Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey" be stopped.[17] In December 2012, he further blamed United States andEuropean Union sanctions for the suffering in Syria.[18]
In January 2013, after United Nations andArab League envoyLakhdar Brahimi said Bashar al-Assad should not take part in a transitional government, Muallem called on opposition groups to join a new cabinet under al-Assad, so long as they "reject foreign intervention."[19]
During his speech during theSixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2013, Muallem claimed that"terrorists from more than 83 countries" are killing Syrian soldiers and civilians and compared the recent events of theSyrian civil war to theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. In a separate interview withBBC correspondentJeremy Bowen, Muallem said that the international peace talks were vital for Syria's future while these talks in Geneva "cannot succeed" while Turks, Saudis and Qataris are helping the rebels.[20]
In January 2014, Muallem participated in theGeneva II Conference on Syria atMontreux. He described the opposition as traitors and terrorists in his initial speech while accusing a number of states of supporting terrorism and deliberately attempting to destabilize Syria.[21] Despite the conference rules permitting only ten minutes to each speaker, Muallem talked for over forty minutes before finishing and repeatedly ignored Ban Ki-moon attempts to conclude his speech.[22]
In February 2016, afterSaudi Arabia was planning to send its troops toSyria in order to fight against theIslamic State, Muallem warned that any foreign army soldiers who enterSyria without government consent would "return home in wooden coffins".[23]
Following theSeptember 2016 Deir ez-Zor air raid which killed up to 100 Syrian soldiers, Muallem said that the Syrian government "holds the United States fully responsible because facts show that it was an intentional attack, and not an error, even if the United States claims otherwise."[24]
From 2012 until his death, he was listed on theEUsanction list. According to the EU as a government minister, he shared responsibility for the Syrian regime's violent repression of the civilian population.[25]
Muallem was married to Sawsan Khayat and had three children, Tarek, Shatha and Khaled.[4][26] He died on the morning of 16 November 2020, at the age of 79, atShami Hospital in Damascus.[27] The cause of his death was not disclosed, but Muallem had been suffering from heart problems for years.[28][29] He was buried at Mezzeh Cemetery.[27]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Syria 2006–2020 | Succeeded by |
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| Academics | |
