Fahd Jassem al-Freij | |
---|---|
فهد جاسم الفريج | |
Member of the Central Command of the Ba'ath Party | |
Assumed office 22 April 2017 | |
12th Minister 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 | Rahjan, Syria | 17 January 1950
Political party | Ba'ath Party |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Syria |
Branch/service | Syrian Arab Army |
Years of service | 1971–2018 |
Rank | Colonel General |
Unit | Armoured Corps |
Commands | Special Forces Operations Staff |
Fahd Jassem al-Freij ( Arabic: فهد جاسم الفريج) [1] (born 17 January 1950) is the former Minister of Defense of Syria, took office on 18 July 2012 and left office on 1 January 2018. [2]
Freij was born in Rahjan in a Sunni Arab tribe on 17 January 1950. He joined the Syrian Arab Army in 1968, and graduated as an armoured corps lieutenant from the Homs Military Academy in 1971.
Freij attended different courses and a higher military education:
On 8 August 2011, Freij was appointed Chief of Staff of the Syrian Arab Army during the Syrian 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 of Daraa, Idlib and Hama during the Syrian uprising.
However, on 18 July 2012, after Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha was assassinated in the 2012 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. [3]
On 1 January 2018, Lieutenant General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub was the successor of al-Freij as Minister of Defense. [2]
In October 2023, French prosecutors at the Judicial Court of Paris charged Fahd Al-Freij and his success Ali Ayyoub for their culpability in a barrel bomb in southwestern Syrian city of Daraa that killed French-Syrian national Salah Abou Nabout at his home in 2017. [4]
Fahd Jassem al-Freij | |
---|---|
فهد جاسم الفريج | |
Member of the Central Command of the Ba'ath Party | |
Assumed office 22 April 2017 | |
12th Minister 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 | Rahjan, Syria | 17 January 1950
Political party | Ba'ath Party |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Syria |
Branch/service | Syrian Arab Army |
Years of service | 1971–2018 |
Rank | Colonel General |
Unit | Armoured Corps |
Commands | Special Forces Operations Staff |
Fahd Jassem al-Freij ( Arabic: فهد جاسم الفريج) [1] (born 17 January 1950) is the former Minister of Defense of Syria, took office on 18 July 2012 and left office on 1 January 2018. [2]
Freij was born in Rahjan in a Sunni Arab tribe on 17 January 1950. He joined the Syrian Arab Army in 1968, and graduated as an armoured corps lieutenant from the Homs Military Academy in 1971.
Freij attended different courses and a higher military education:
On 8 August 2011, Freij was appointed Chief of Staff of the Syrian Arab Army during the Syrian 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 of Daraa, Idlib and Hama during the Syrian uprising.
However, on 18 July 2012, after Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha was assassinated in the 2012 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. [3]
On 1 January 2018, Lieutenant General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub was the successor of al-Freij as Minister of Defense. [2]
In October 2023, French prosecutors at the Judicial Court of Paris charged Fahd Al-Freij and his success Ali Ayyoub for their culpability in a barrel bomb in southwestern Syrian city of Daraa that killed French-Syrian national Salah Abou Nabout at his home in 2017. [4]