Mohammad al-Shaar

His Excellency
Mohammad Sha'ar
محمد الشعار‎
Vice President of the National Progressive Front
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 November 2018
PresidentBashar al-Assad
Minister of the Interior
In office
14 April 2011 – 26 November 2018
PresidentBashar al-Assad
Prime MinisterAdel Safar
Riyad Farid Hijab
Wael Nader al-Halqi
Imad Khamis
Preceded bySaid Mohammad Sammour
Succeeded byMohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun
Commander of the Syrian Military Police
In office
? – 14 April 2011
PresidentBashar al-Assad
Succeeded byAbdulaziz al-Shalal
Personal details
Born1950 (age 73–74)
Al-Haffa, Syria
Political partyBa'ath Party
Other political
affiliations		National Progressive Front
Children5
Military service
Allegiance Syria
Rank Major General[1]
Battles/warsSyrian Civil War

Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar (Arabic: محمد إبراهيم الشعار; born 1950) is a Syrian military officer and former Minister of the Interior in Syria who served from 2011 to 2018. He is the current Vice President of the National Progressive Front.

Early life

Shaar was born into a Sunni family in the village of Hafa in Latakia Governorate in 1950.[2][3]

Career

Shaar joined the armed forces in 1971 and held a number of security positions, including chief of the military security in Tartous, the chief of the military security in Aleppo, and the commander and chief of the Syrian military police.[3] He was the commander of the military police prior to being appointed minister of interior in April 2011,[2] replacing Said Mohammad Sammour.[4][5]

Sanctions

On 9 May 2011, the European Union (EU) placed sanctions on Shaar along with 12 others.[6][7] The Official Journal of the European Union states the reason for sanctions against him as "involvement in violent treatment of demonstrators".[8] Swiss government also put him into sanction list in September 2011, citing the same reason given by the EU.[9]

Personal life

Shaar is married and has two sons and three daughters.[2] He is a Sunni Muslim.[10]

Reports of death or injury

On 18 July 2012, there were conflicting reports on his fate, with CNN reporting that Syrian state run television confirmed that Shaar was killed following a bombing of a meeting of the Central Crisis Management Cell (CCMC) at the National Security headquarters in Damascus.[11] However, later state TV reported that he survived although wounded.[12] Additional reports stated that he, along with the country's intelligence chief, was in stable condition.[13]

On 19 December 2012, reports surfaced that Shaar had been admitted to the American University in Beirut hospital in Lebanon a few days earlier, after sustaining unspecified injuries in a bombing. The attack took place in front of the ministry of interior in Damascus on 12 December, killing several and injuring more than 20. Shaar's injuries were not believed to be serious.[14]

On 26 December 2012, Shaar was reported to have cut short his treatment in Beirut due to a belief that he might be arrested by Lebanese officials for his role in a massacre of hundreds of people in Tripoli in 1986 and that he may be subject to international arrest warrants. He then returned to Damascus.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "الوزراء الذين تتالوا على الوزارة". Ministry of Interior. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "نبذة عن السيد وزير الداخلية". Ministry of Interior. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Considering a Palace Coup in Syria". Stratfor. 8 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  4. ^ Kim Sengupta; Richard Hall (19 July 2012). "Architects of regime's brutal crackdown pay the ultimate price". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Syrian president reshuffles cabinet". People's Daily. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  6. ^ "EU sanctions target Syria elite in bid to end violence". BBC. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  7. ^ Fahim, Kareem (19 July 2012). "Profiles of Syrian Officials Targeted in Damascus Blast". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  8. ^ "List of persons and entities referred to in articles 3 and 4". Official Journal of the European Union. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Ordinance instituting measures against Syria" (PDF). Federal Department of Economy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  10. ^ "Assad's slain aides had many people who would want them dead". The Globe and Mail. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  11. ^ "Top Syrian officials killed in major blow to al-Assad's regime". CNN. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  12. ^ Weiss, Michael (18 July 2012). "The End of the Political Solution". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Assad's top three aides killed in blast". The Times of India. TNN. 19 July 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  14. ^ Syrian minister Mohammad Shaar 'in Beirut hospital' (BBC)
  15. ^ Mroue, Bassem (26 December 2012). "Syria's interior minister flees from Beirut hospital". The Washington Times. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by Interior Minister
14 April 2011 – 26 November 2018 		Succeeded by