Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled Damascus with his family after Syrian rebels recently captured the city. After six years of his rule, they were exiled to Moscow, Russia where Vladimir Putin granted them political asylum. But who is the wife behind the cruel dictator? The ex-First Lady loyally stayed with the controversial figure for more than two decades — here’s what we know.
Who is Asma al-Assad?
Asma al-Assad was born in 1975 in London, England, to Sunni parents. Her mother was a diplomat at the Syrian embassy, while her father was a cardiologist. Asma’s parents raised their children as secular, Arabic-speaking Muslims. She attended the esteemed Queen’s College in the UK before pursuing degrees in French literature and science. According to this journalist, she grew up horseback riding and often skipped class to hang out with her friends on Oxford Street. Students who attended school with her reported that she went by Emma rather than Asma.
After working briefly at Deutsche Bank in New York, she returned to London, where she worked at Morgan Stanley as an investment banker. Right when she was about to get an MBA at Harvard, she met Bashar al-Assad. Her life would change forever.
Her marriage to a notorious president
At the beginning of the 1990s, Asma met Assad on a trip to Syria, where she was staying with her aunt. At the time, he was training to be an ophthalmologist, and she was studying finance. In 2000, they got married. She was 25 years old, and he was 10 years older than her. At that time, Syria had been grooming Assad to become its future leader. When they married in 2000, Bashar became the new dictator of Syria after his brother (the future heir) passed away in a car crash.
Defying convention, Asma refused to cover herself with a burqa or veil, establishing herself as an independent woman and representing the more liberal political climate of Syria. People thought the couple would bring a more progressive Syria, but the future would be darker than expected.
The ‘First Lady of Hell”
In 2010, Vogue referred to her as a “desert rose,” and at first, people thought of her as the Syrian Princess Diana. But her reputation as a liberal beauty would soon collapse. Her husband would lead a brutal regime filled with torture and violence against the Syrian people, wiping out opposition groups and starting the Syrian Civil War, which killed half a million people, leaving six million as refugees.
Asma always showed support for her husband, executing policies that controlled aspects such as diminishing food rations and internet access. She was responsible for much of the dictatorship’s repression as she managed Syria’s economy. Hiring a PR firm to curate a liberal image only took her so far—she stood silent and complicit in her husband’s actions. She was personally responsible for many of the atrocities that happened. Some people say she was the real dictator and had an extremely cutthroat personality.
Today, she is regarded as an international pariah. Some of her nicknames included “Marie Antoinette” and “predator in chief.”
She lives lavishly
She wasn’t afraid to live a lavish lifestyle while her people lived in dire times of hunger, violence, and poverty. The Guardian reported on leaked emails showing that she spent tens of thousands on lavish jewelry, paintings, chandeliers, and more. According to the US Department of State, the family is worth over a billion dollars. Many believe that her riches came from her own charity, which she founded, dubbed the Syria Trust.
She gave a rare interview on a Russian news channel, saying that there was “unprecedented” suffering but not taking any personal responsibility.
Her health battles
Asma received a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2018, for which she underwent treatment. At 49 years old, Asma received a diagnosis of an aggressive form of leukemia in May 2024. Opposition activists and the Assad regime supporters had mixed reactions.
