100 Notable alumni of
Damascus University
Updated:
Damascus University is 303rd in the world, 58th in Asia, and 1st in Syria by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Damascus University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Bashar al-Assad
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- 1982-1988 graduated with bachelor's degree in medicine
- Occupations
- statesperson
- Biography
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Bashar al-Assad is a Syrian politician, military officer, and former dictator who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until his government was overthrown by Syrian rebels in 2024. As president, Assad was commander-in-chief of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He is the son of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000.
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Mahmoud Abbas
- Occupations
- juristpolitician
- Biography
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Mahmoud Abbas, also known by the kunya Abu Mazen (Arabic: أَبُو مَازِن, ʾAbū Māzin), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) since 2005. He has been the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) since 2004, PNA president since January 2005, and State of Palestine president since May 2005. Abbas is also a member of the Fatah party and was elected chairman in 2009.
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Bassel al-Assad
- Occupations
- civil engineerpoliticianmilitary officer
- Biography
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Bassel al-Assad was a Syrian military officer, engineer and politician. He was the eldest son of the 18th Syrian president Hafez al-Assad. He was expected to succeed his father as president until his death in a car crash in January 1994. After his death, his younger brother Bashar became heir apparent to the Syrian presidency and ultimately succeeded their father upon his death.
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Kosai Khauli
- Occupations
- actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Kosai Khauli is a Syrian actor. He portrayed the king of Egypt Ismai’il Pasha in the 2014 historic TV drama Saraya Abdeen that aired on MBC in 2014.
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Maher al-Assad
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Major General Maher Hafez al-Assad is a Syrian former military officer who served as commander of the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Division, which, together with Syria's Military Intelligence, formed the core of the Ba'athist regime's security forces until its collapse in 2024. He is the younger brother of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and also was a member of the Central Committee of the Syrian Ba'ath Party.
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Mohammed Rateb al-Nabulsi
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Mohammed Rateb Al-Nabulsi is a Syrian writer, professor, Islamic scholar, and Co-founder & manager (Nabulsi Encyclopedia of Islamic Science). He was a professor at Damascus University. He was living in Syria but after the Syrian Revolution started in 2011, he went to Jordan. After the fall of the Assad regime he returned to Syria in 2024.
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Duraid Lahham
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1958 studied chemistry
- Occupations
- screenwritertelevision actorstage actorfilm director
- Biography
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Duraid Lahham is a leading Syrian comedian and director born 1934 in Damascus, Syria. He is famous for acting the role of "Ghawwar El Toshe" in a number of movies and series. His co-star throughout his career was Nihad Qali who played the role of "Husni Al Borazani".
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Sulaf Fawakherji
- Occupations
- actorfilm director
- Biography
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Sulaf Fawakherji is a Syrian film, TV actress and director.
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Bushra Assad
- Occupations
- pharmacist
- Biography
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Bushra al-Assad is the first child and only daughter of Hafez al-Assad, who was the president of Syria from 1971 to 2000. She is the sister of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. She is the widow of Assef Shawkat, the deputy chief of staff of the Syrian Armed Forces and former head of the Syrian Military Intelligence, who was killed in the 18 July 2012 explosion in Damascus, responsibility for which was claimed by a coalition of Syrian opposition rebel groups.
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Yasser al-Azma
- Occupations
- actorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Yasser al-Azmeh is a prominent Syrian writer and actor of television and theater from Damascus. He is a member of the highly notable Al-Azmeh Damascene family. Al-Azmeh is best known for the popular comedy series Maraya which was filmed from 1982–2013 for a total of 20 seasons.
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Sabah Jazairi
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Sabah Jazairi is a veteran Syrian actress who has appeared in numerous drama and television series, comedy shorts, and theatrical plays, including "Al Ababid", "Aa'id ila Haifa" (Returning to Haifa) and Bab Al-Hara (The Alley's Gate). Nicknamed "The Cinderella of the Syrian Screen", Jazairi's long career has spanned over five decades and she has performed in over 80 television series. Throughout her long and illustrious career she has been the recipient of many awards.
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Dima Kandalaft
- Occupations
- singeractor
- Biography
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Dima Kandalaft is a Syrian actress and singer.
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Rifaat al-Assad
- Occupations
- military personnelpolitician
- Biography
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Rifaat Ali al-Assad, known as the "Butcher of Hama", is a Syrian former military officer and politician. He is the younger brother of the late President of Syria, Hafez al-Assad, and Jamil al-Assad, and the uncle of the former President Bashar al-Assad. He was the commanding officer of the ground operations of the 1982 Hama massacre ordered by his brother.
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Suzan Najm Aldeeen
- Occupations
- actorarchitect
- Biography
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Suzan Najm Aldeen is a Syrian actress, whose memorable roles have earned her wide acclaim throughout the Arab world. After enrolling in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture Department in Damascus, she was offered the opportunity to become an actress. This, however, did not stop her from pursuing her studies and graduating as an architect. Starting in 1990s Syrian dramas, Najm Aldeen went on to star in several renowned Arab series and movies.
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Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti
- Occupations
- writertheologianphilosopher
- Biography
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Muhammad Said Ramadan Al-Bouti was a renowned Syrian Sunni Muslim scholar, writer and professor, where he was vice dean in the Damascus University and served as the imam of the Umayyad Mosque.
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Wael Sharaf
- Occupations
- directortelevision actor
- Biography
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Wael Sharaf is a Syrian actor and film director. He is known for playing Moataz in the historical drama Bab al-Hara seasons 1-7, which is shown during Ramadan.
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Abdul Halim Khaddam
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1952 graduated with law degree
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomatlawyer
- Biography
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Abdul Halim Khaddam was a Syrian politician who served as interim President of Syria in 2000 as well as the Vice President of Syria and the Syrian High Commissioner to Lebanon from 1984 to 2005. He was a long known loyalist of Hafez al-Assad under the Ba'athist regime in Syria after the Corrective Movement in 1970. He resigned from his position and left the country in 2005 in protest against certain policies of Hafez's son and successor, Bashar al-Assad. He accumulated substantial wealth while in office: a Credit Suisse account in his name, opened in 1994, had nearly 90 million Swiss francs in September 2003, per Suisse secrets. This puts Khaddam and his family's net worth at $1.1 billion, making them one of the wealthiest and most influential political families in the Middle East.
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Jumana Murad
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Jumana Nawaf Fahad Murad is a Syrian actress and producer.
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Adunis
- Occupations
- translatorwriterliterary scholaruniversity teacherjournalist
- Biography
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Ali Ahmad Said Esber, also known by the pen name Adonis or Adunis (أدونيس Arabic pronunciation: [ʔadoːˈniːs]), is a Syrian poet, essayist and translator. Maya Jaggi, writing for The Guardian stated "He led a modernist revolution in the second half of the 20th century, "exerting a seismic influence" on Arabic poetry comparable to T.S. Eliot's in the anglophone world."
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Assef Shawkat
- Occupations
- military personnelpolitician
- Biography
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Assef Shawkat was a Syrian military officer and intelligence chief who was the Deputy Minister of Defense of Syria from September 2011 until his death in July 2012. He was the brother-in-law of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, having married his older sister Bushra.
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Rached Ghannouchi
- Occupations
- politicianuniversity teacherlawyer
- Biography
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Rached Ghannouchi, also spelled Rachid al-Ghannouchi or Rached el-Ghannouchi, is a Tunisian politician, the co-founder of the Ennahdha Party and serving as its intellectual leader. He was born Rashad Khriji (راشد الخريجي).
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Faisal al-Qassem
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Faisal Al-Qasim, also written as Faisal Al-Kasim is a British-Syrian television personality based in Qatar, who is known for hosting the controversial live debate show The Opposite Direction (Arabic: الاتجاه المعاكس) on Al Jazeera, where two guests with contradicting points of views debate on various topics but mostly topics related to politics of the Arab world. Fights break out on some occasions.
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Abdelkader Bensalah
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied jurisprudence
- Occupations
- writerjournalistpolitician
- Biography
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Abdelkader Bensalah was an Algerian politician.
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Nureddin al-Atassi
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Nureddin Mustafa Ali al-Atassi was a Syrian politician who served as the president of Syria from February 1966 to November 1970.
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May Skaf
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied French literature
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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May Skaf was a Syrian actress and activist. She began her career in 1991. Skaf acted in many series and movies such as Al-Ababeed in 1997, Maraya in 1998 and Omar in 2012. Skaf was known for her opposition to Syrian regime, she was labeled The rebellious artist, The Free artist and Revolution icon. She died in July 2018 in Dourdan, France from a heart attack.
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Zahran Alloush
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Zahran Alloush was a Syrian Islamist rebel leader who was the commander of Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam), a major component of the Islamic Front, of which he was the military chief, and was described as one of the most powerful leaders in rebel-held Syria. He was killed in a joint Russian and Syrian airstrike on 25 December 2015 and was succeeded by Essam al-Buwaydhani as head of Jaysh al-Islam.
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Rafik Schami
- Occupations
- writerchildren's writernovelistchemist
- Biography
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Rafik Schami is a Syrian-German author, storyteller and critic.
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Michael Lüders
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied Arabic literature
- Occupations
- Islamicistjournalistpolitical adviserauthorpolitical scientist
- Biography
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Michael Andreas Lüders is a German political scientist and Islamic scholar who works as a publicist and political and economic consultant. He is also known as a journalist and a writer of many novels.
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George Percy, Earl Percy
- Years
- 1984-.. (age 41)
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied Arabic
- Occupations
- businesspersonaristocrat
- Biography
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George Dominic Percy, Earl Percy, is a British businessman and the heir apparent to the Dukedom of Northumberland.
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Farouk al-Sharaa
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Farouk al-Sharaa is a Syrian politician and diplomat. He was one of the most prominent officials in the Syrian government and served as foreign minister of Syria from 1984 until 2006 when he became a vice president of Syria. His term as vice president ended on 19 July 2014. He is the first cousin once removed of current President of Syria Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
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Sa'dun Hammadi
- Occupations
- politicianbanker
- Biography
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Sa'dun Hammadi was an Iraqi politician and economist. He was briefly the prime minister of Iraq under President Saddam Hussein from March until September 1991 and was appointed as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Iraq. In addition, he was a member of the Regional Command of Iraqi Regional Branch.
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Imad Khamis
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied electrical engineering
- Occupations
- engineerpolitician
- Biography
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Imad Muhammad Dib Khamis is a Syrian politician who served as the 67th prime minister of Syria from 2016 to 2020 under president Bashar al-Assad. Previously, he was minister of electricity from 2011 to 2016.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
- Occupations
- poetIslamic jurist
- Biography
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Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi is a Syrian religious leader and Islamic scholar. He has opposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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Bashar Jaafari
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomatpropagandist
- Biography
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Bashar Jaafari, also Ja'afari, is a Syrian diplomat. During his tenure as the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations (PermRep) from 2006 to 2020, Jaafari was notable for his strident defense of the Assad regime during the Syrian civil war, repeatedly denying allegations of human rights abuse and the regime's use of chemical weapons. As PermRep, Jaafari was the Assad regime's lead negotiator during the Syrian peace process with the Syrian opposition.
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Riyad Farid Hijab
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Riyad Farid Hijab is a Syrian politician. He was Prime Minister of Syria from June to August 2012, serving under President Bashar al-Assad. From 2011 to 2012, he was Minister of Agriculture.
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Lena Chamamyan
- Occupations
- composersingersongwriter
- Biography
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Lena Chamamyan is a Syrian-Armenian singer-songwriter, known for her soprano voice and unique style, which fuses jazz, Arabic folk music and Western classical music.
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Majid al-Shibl
- Occupations
- radio personalitypresentertalk show hosttelevision presenter
- Biography
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Majid al-Shibl, original name Muhammad al-Shibil, was a prominent Saudi announcer who introduced several programs and variety.
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Nazim al-Kudsi
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Nazim al-Qudsi, was a Syrian politician who served as the 14th president of Syria from 14 December 1961 to 8 March 1963.
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Wael Nader Al-Halqi
- Occupations
- politicianphysiciangynecologist
- Biography
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Wael Nader Al-Halqi is a Syrian politician who was Prime Minister of Syria from 2012 to 2016. Previously he was Minister of Health from 2011 to 2012. He was appointed as Prime Minister on 9 August 2012.
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Omar Abu Risha
- Occupations
- diplomatplaywrightpoet
- Biography
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Omar Abu-Riche, also spelled Omar Ab(o)u Risha, Abu Risheh, was a Syrian ambassador and writer, known for his poetic works.
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Waciny Laredj
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Waciny Laredj is an Algerian novelist, short story writer and academic.
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Ed Husain
- Occupations
- autobiographer
- Biography
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Ed Husain is a British author and a professor in the Walsh School of Foreign Service in Georgetown University. As a political advisor he has worked with leaders and governments across the world. Husain is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) focused on U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East generally, and specifically at the intersection of Arab-Israeli relations after the Abraham Accords, the geopolitical interplay of Arab Gulf states, China-Muslim world dynamics, and Islamist terrorism. As a professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, he teaches classes on global security, Arab-Israeli peace, and the shared intellectual roots of the West and Islam.
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Moaz Khatib
- Occupations
- imampoliticianengineer
- Biography
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Ahmad Moaz Al-Khatib Al-Hasani is a former president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. He is also a former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
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Bouthaina Shaaban
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- 1971-1975 graduated with bachelor's degree in English studies
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Bouthaina Shaaban is a Syrian politician who served as political and media adviser to the presidency under Bashar al-Assad until his overthrow in 2024. Shaaban had also previously served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the Syrian Arab Republic, between 2002 and 2008, and was described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world at the time.
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Khalid al-Azm
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Khalid al-Azm was a Syrian politician and five-time interim Prime Minister, as well as Acting President from 4 April to 16 September 1941. He was a member of one of the most prominent political families in Syria, al-Azm (also known as Alazem or Al Azem), and the son of an Ottoman minister of religious affairs.
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Ghassan Aboud
- Occupations
- journalisttrader
- Biography
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Muhammed Ghassan Aboud is a Syrian entrepreneur. He is one of the founding members of the Syrian Business Council and the Ghassan Aboud Group. Based in the United Arab Emirates, Aboud was listed in the 2018 issue of the Top 50 Most Influential Expats in the UAE by Forbes Middle East. In 2019, his net worth was estimated at $1.75 billion by Forbes magazine.
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Hazza' al-Majali
- Occupations
- politiciancivil servanteconomistlawyer
- Biography
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Hazza' Barakat al-Majali was a Jordanian politician that served as the two-time 11th Prime Minister of Jordan. His first term lasted one week in 1955, his second term lasted from mid-1959 until his assassination.
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Abdelsalam al-Majali
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1949 graduated with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery
- Occupations
- politicianphysician
- Biography
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Abdelsalam Atalla al-Majali was a Jordanian physician and politician who served twice as Prime Minister of Jordan.
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Faisal Mekdad
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1978 graduated with undergraduate education in English studies
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Faisal Mekdad is a Syrian diplomat and politician who served as the vice president of Syria from September to December 2024. He is the last person to serve in this position under president Bashar al-Assad and of the Ba'ath Party-led Syrian Arab Republic. Between 2020 and 2024, he was also a Foreign Minister of Syria. He served as Syria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2003 until 2006.
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Burhan Ghalioun
- Occupations
- sociologistpoliticianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Burhan Ghalioun is a French-Syrian professor of sociology at the Université de Paris III Sorbonne University in Paris, and the first chairman of the Syrian National Council (SNC). He was named chairman on 29 August 2011. His chairmanship was criticized for his perceived closeness to the Muslim Brotherhood, his early reluctance to arm opposition forces, and what opponents called the autocratic nature of his leadership. On 17 May 2012, feeling he had become an increasingly divisive figure for the council, Ghalioun resigned.
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Akram al-Hawrani
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Akram Al-Hourani, was a Syrian politician who played a prominent role during the democratic era of Syria in the 1950s, he established and led the Arab Socialist Party. He was a highly influential figure in the Syrian politics from the beginning of the 1940s until his departure into exile in 1963, during this period he was able to introduce significant reforms towards more just and fairer society especially in relation to the agricultural sector and land redistribution against the feudal system. Al-Hourani held various positions as a member of the Syrian parliament, the head of the parliament, minister of agriculture, minister of defence, and the vice-president of the United Arab Republic.
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Ali Farzat
- Occupations
- businesspersonjournalistcaricaturist
- Biography
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Ali Farzat or Ali Ferzat is a Syrian political cartoonist. He has published more than 15,000 caricatures in Syrian, Arab and international newspapers. He serves as the head of the Arab Cartoonists Association. In 2011, he received Sakharov Prize for peace. Farzat was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2012.
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George Sabra
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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George Sabra is a Syrian politician and member of the Syrian Democratic People's Party. He was elected president of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group in Syria, on 9 November 2012 and later was acting president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from 22 April – 6 July 2013. He resigned from the National Coalition on 25 April 2018. Sabra is a Christian.
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Mudar Badran
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1956 graduated with licentiate degree in law
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Mudar Mohammad Ayesh Badran was a Jordanian politician, government minister, and industrialist. He served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Jordan on three occasions from 1976 to 1979, then again from 1980 to 1984, and finally from 1989 to 1991.
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Suheir Atassi
- Occupations
- politiciandissidentlawyer
- Biography
-
Suheir al-Atassi is a Syrian secular activist in the Syrian opposition, and co-vice-president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces between November 2012 and December 2013. She has been called the "Lady of the Revolution" and is widely respected in secular and intellectual circles within the Syrian opposition structure. She had previously run the media wing of the banned Jamal Atassi Forum, which was named after her father, a founding member of the Ba'ath Party who later left and founded the Democratic Arab Socialist Union.
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Giles Clarke
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Charles Giles Clarke CBE DL, is a British businessman then cricket administrator, who was chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
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Hassan al-Nouri
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hassan al-Nouri is a Syrian politician who was a candidate for the Syrian presidential election in June 2014.
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Yusuf Zuayyin
- Occupations
- politicianphysician
- Biography
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Yusuf Zuayyin was a Syrian politician. A member of the Ba'ath Party, he served as Prime Minister of Syria in 1965 and again from 1966 to 1968. He was born in Abu Kamal.
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Zuhair Masharqa
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Muhammad Zuhair Masharqa was a Syrian politician who served as Vice President of Syria from 1984 to 2006.
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Maram al-Masri
- Occupations
- translatorpoetwriter
- Biography
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Maram al-Masri is a Syrian writer, living in Paris. She has been considered "one of the most renowned and captivating feminine voices of her generation" in Arabic.
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Abdullah al-Ahmar
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Abdullah Al-Ahmar is a Syrian politician and prominent member of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.
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Maḥmūd Shuqayr
- Years
- 1941-.. (age 84)
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Mahmoud Shukair is a Palestinian writer. He was born in Jabal al-Mukabbar in Jerusalem during the British Mandate and studied philosophy and sociology at Damascus University in Syria. He was jailed by the Israeli authorities, and was deported to Lebanon in 1975. After living for 18 years in Beirut, Amman and Prague, he returned to Jerusalem in 1993. He worked for years in teaching and journalism, and served as editor-in-chief of the cultural magazines Al-Talia'a (The Vanguard), Dafatir Thaqafiya (Cultural File). He also edited the cultural issues of the journal Sawt al-Watan (Sound of the Homeland). Shukair also occupied positions in the Jordanian Writers' Union, the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists, the Palestinian Community Party, and the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.
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Mohammad Habash
- Occupations
- scholarwriter
- Biography
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Mohammad Al-Habash or Mohamed Habash is a Syrian Islamic scholar, and writer. He is the principal figure of the Islamic revivalist movement in Syria, and the founder of the Studies Center for Civilization and Enlightenment Research.
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Moussa al-Omar
- Occupations
- journalisttelevision presenter
- Biography
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Moussa al-Omar is a Syrian journalist and presenter.
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Jawad Abu Hatab
- Occupations
- politicianphysician
- Biography
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Jawad Abu Hatab is a Syrian politician. Since May 2016 he has served as Minister of Defence in the Syrian Interim Government. He also served as prime minister, resigning on 10 March 2019. Prior to his election as prime minister, he worked as a heart surgeon and served in various roles within the Syrian opposition.
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Sabah Qabbani
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Sabah Qabbani was appointed ambassador of Syria to the United States by President Hafez Al-Asad in 1974. The post had been vacant since 1967 when diplomatic relations between Syria and the United States were severed following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Prior to his posting in Washington, D.C. he was Syria’s envoy to Indonesia and Syria's consul in New York.
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Bahjat Talhouni
- Occupations
- judgepolitician
- Biography
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Bahjat Talhouni was a Jordanian political figure. He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Jordan between 1960 and 1970 for six different terms.
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ʻAbd al-Salām al-ʻUjaylī
- Occupations
- short story writerphysicianwriternovelist
- Biography
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Abdul Salam al-Ujayli was a Syrian novelist, doctor and politician.
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Sabri al-Asali
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Sabri al-Asali was a Syrian politician and a three-time prime minister of Syria. He also served as vice-president of the United Arab Republic in 1958.
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Riyad Nassan Agha
- Years
- 1947-.. (age 78)
- Occupations
- screenwriterMember of the People's Council of Syriadiplomat
- Biography
-
Riyad Nassan Agha is a former minister of culture of Syria. He served as Syria's ambassador to Oman and the United Arab Emirates. He holds a PhD. degree in philosophy from the University of Damascus.
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Fatima Jibrell
- Occupations
- environmentalistconservationisthumanitarian
- Biography
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Fatima Jibrell is a Somali-American environmental activist. She was the co-founder and executive director of the Horn of Africa Relief and Development Organization (now Adeso), co-founder of Sun Fire Cooking, and was instrumental in the creation of the Women's Coalition for Peace.
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Ziyad Sabsabi
- Occupations
- politicianstatespersoneconomist
- Biography
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Ziyad Mukhamedovich Sabsabi, is a Syrian-Russian politician who served as a Member of the Federation Council from the legislative authority of the Chechen Republic from 2008 to 2019.
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Razan Ghazzawi
- Occupations
- journalisthuman rights activist
- Biography
-
Dr. Razan Ghazzawi, is a Syrian-Palestinian blogger, campaigner, teacher, and activist, originally from Homs in Syria and Gaza in Palestine. Ghazzawi finished their PhD in Gender Studies and International Relations at the University of Sussex. They currently work as a tenure-track assistant professor in Queer Studies at Oregon State University, USA, since September 2023. Ghazzawi has been highly involved as a dissident since they started blogging in 2005, and weaponized their blogging to disseminate information about Syrian regime human rights violations following the 2011 Syrian Uprising. Ghazzawi has been particularly outspoken on activists' arrests and the violations of human rights committed by the Bashar al-Assad government, as well as on the sectarianism, Arab racism, and transphobia and homophobia towards Syrian ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities within Syrian cisgender and straight activist communityand opposition in diaspora and exile. Ghazzawi was called "iconic blogger and leading activist" by The Telegraph. Jillian York (who has been called "one of the leading scholars on Internet control and censorship") wrote that Ghazzawi was "one of heroes."
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Abdullatif Abdulhamid
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directoractor
- Biography
-
Abdellatif Abdelhamid was a Syrian film director. His films have earned numerous awards, beginning with the Damascus International Film Festival, the Carthage Film Festival, and Rabat International Film Festival.
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Mazen Darwish
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 51)
- Occupations
- lawyerhuman rights activist
- Biography
-
Mazen Darwish is a Syrian lawyer and free speech advocate. He is the president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression. News organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press, have described him as one of Syria's most prominent activists. He was imprisoned in Syria from 2012 until his release in August 2015.
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Hassan Hassan
- Occupations
- journalistwriter
- Biography
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Hassan Hassan is an American author and journalist of Syrian origin. He co-wrote the 2015 New York Times bestseller ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror with Michael Weiss. He has written on Islamist groups in the Middle East. He frequently appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Amanpour and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, and has written for The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, and The Daily Beast, among others. Hassan is the founder and editor-in-chief of New Lines Magazine, a global affairs magazine.
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Jamal al-Atassi
- Occupations
- writerjournalistpolitician
- Biography
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Jamal Al-Atassi was a Syrian Arab nationalist, politician and author. He was one of the earliest ideologues of the nascent Syrian Ba'ath Party, which he joined soon after it was founded. He helped to lay out its constitution and was the man who came up with the party's motto, "One united Arab Nation with an eternal Message." He also served as chief editor of the party's daily newspaper, Al Baath. His daughter, Suheir Atassi, is also a politician and the head of the Assistance Coordination Unit.
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Naser al-Hariri
- Occupations
- internistpolitician
- Biography
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Naser al-Hariri is a former member of the People's Council of Syria from Daraa. Along with fellow parliamentarian Khalil al-Rifaei, also from Daraa, al-Hariri resigned from his seat in protest at the "continued killings of protesters during the 2011 protests in Syria".
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Bashir al-Azma
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied in 1934
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Bashir al-Azma, was a Syrian doctor and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Syria from 16 April to 17 September 1962.
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Omran al-Zoubi
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied law
- Occupations
- politicianuniversity teacherlawyer
- Biography
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Omran Ahed al-Zoubi was the Minister of Information in the Government of Syria from 23 June 2012 until July 2016. He died from a heart attack on 6 July 2018.
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Riad Ismat
- Occupations
- criticdiplomatliterary criticprofessorwriter
- Biography
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Mohammad Riad Hussain Ismat was a Syrian writer, critic and theatre director. He served as Minister of Culture of Syria from 3 October 2010 to 23 June 2012.
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Ziad Abu Amr
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Ziad Abu Amr is a Palestinian politician, author, and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. He currently serves as the first deputy prime minister and is a member (independent) of the PLO Executive Committee. From 18 March 2007 to 17 June 2007, he was Foreign Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. On 6 June 2013, Ziad Abu-Amr was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority by President Mahmoud Abbas.
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Said al-Ghazzi
- Occupations
- diplomatlawyer
- Biography
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Said Al-Ghazzi was a Syrian lawyer, politician and two time prime minister of Syria. He was born in Damascus.
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Bassam Sabbagh
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1990 graduated with bachelor's degree in political science
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Bassam al-Sabbagh is a Syrian diplomat and politician who served as the Foreign and Expatriates Minister of Syria from 22 September 2024 to 8 December 2024. He is the last person to serve in this position under president Bashar al-Assad and of the Syrian Arab Republic. He also served as Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations in New York City between 2020 and 2023.
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Salwa Al Neimi
- Occupations
- writernovelistpoetjournalist
- Biography
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Salwa Al Neimi, also Salwa al-Nuʿaymī is a Syrian writer, poet and journalist living in France. Originally from Damascus, she is known for her outspoken views on topics which are taboo in the Muslim world, particularly female sexuality. In 2007 she published her debut novel, The Proof of the Honey, which was noted for its liberal treatment of female sexuality. Some of her works have been published in English, French and other languages.
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Saad Jumaa
- Occupations
- writerpoliticiandiplomat
- Biography
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Saad Mohammad Jumaa Alayoubi was a Jordanian politician, writer and poet who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Jordan in 1967.
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Sami al-Jundi
- Occupations
- politicianphysician
- Biography
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Sami al-Jundi was a Syrian Ba'athist politician, and a follower of Michel Aflaq.
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Mano Khalil
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorcinematographerfilm producer
- Biography
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Mano Khalil is a Kurdish-Swiss film director living in Switzerland. He studied history and law at Damascus University and moved to Czechoslovakia in 1987 to study fiction and film direction. Between 1990 and 1995 he worked as an independent film director for Czechoslovak and later for Slovak Television. Since 1996, he has lived in Switzerland, working as an independent film director and producer.
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Imad Moustapha
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Imad Moustapha is a former Syrian Ambassador to China and the United States.
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Ghassan Ibrahim
- Occupations
- politicianjournalisteconomist
- Biography
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Ghassan Ibrahim is the Editor in Chief of Global Arab Network and a Syrian journalist.
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Orwa Nyrabia
- Occupations
- film directorfilm produceractorscreenwritercinematographer
- Biography
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Orwa Nyrabia is an independent documentary film festival artistic director, producer, filmmaker, trainer, human rights defender and co-founder of DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival in Syria. Nyrabia is a resident of Berlin, Germany, since the end of 2013 In January 2018 Nyrabia became the Artistic Director of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
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Amani Ballour
- Occupations
- pediatricianphysician
- Biography
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Amani Ballour is a Syrian-born pediatrician and an advocate of women's and children's rights. Her story is portrayed by the Oscar-nominated documentary The Cave, which tells of the struggles of running an underground hospital during the Syrian civil war.
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Sari Hanafi
- Occupations
- sociologist
- Biography
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Sari Hanafi is currently a professor of sociology at the American University of Beirut and chair of the Islamic Studies program. He is the former president of the International Sociological Association and also the editor of Idafat: the Arab Journal of Sociology. In 2018, Hanafi founded "Athar", the Portal for Social impact of scientific research in/on the Arab world.
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Mariem Mint Mohamed Fadel Ould Dah
- Occupations
- oral and maxillofacial surgeon
- Biography
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Mariem Mint Mohamed Fadel Ould Dah, also known as Mariem Mint Dah (Hassaniyya: مريم منت الداه), is a Mauritanian dentist, commander in the Armed Forces of Mauritania and activist who has been the First Lady of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania since 2019 as the wife of President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.
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Liwaa Yazji
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied English literature
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilmmakerplaywrightfilm directorwriter
- Biography
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Liwaa Yazji, alternative spelling Liwaa Yazaji, is a Syrian filmmaker, playwright, TV screenwriter, dramaturge and poet. Her works, written in Arabic, have been translated into English and presented in the United Kingdom, the US and, in original Arabic versions, in Arab states.
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Ali Khalifa Al-Kuwari
- Occupations
- journalisteconomist
- Biography
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Ali Khalifa Al-Kuwari is a Qatari democracy activist, author and professor. He has occupied several positions in the oil sector. He is known for editing the book The People Want Reform in Qatar Too, which was subsequently banned in Qatar due to its critical views of government policies. He is one of the primary advocates for political reform in the country.
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Ibrahim Makhous
- Occupations
- diplomatphysician
- Biography
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Ibrahim Makhūs or Ibrahim Makhous or Brahim Makhous and Arabic: إبراهيم ماخوس was a Syrian Baathist politician who sat on the Regional Command from 1966 to 1970. He served as foreign minister during Salah Jadid's rule.
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Zaina Erhaim
- Occupations
- war correspondentwriterjournalistteacher
- Biography
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Zaina Erhaim is a Syrian journalist, and feminist. She works as a communications consultant and trainer with international organisations in Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Libya, Lebanon and Egypt. She has reported on the Syrian civil war from within Syria. Erhaim was the Institute for War and Peace Reporting 's Communications Manager, she trained hundreds of people whilst in Syria to be citizen reporters, notably a large proportion of them women.
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Majd Izzat al-Chourbaji
- Occupations
- activist
- Biography
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Majd Izzat al-Chourbaji is a Syrian peace activist. In 2015, she was awarded the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award, for her work with women and human rights advocacy in Syria.
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Kazem al-Khalil
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1931 studied law
- Occupations
- judgepoliticiancondottierolawyer
- Biography
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Kazem Ismail al-Khalil - commonly known as Kazem al-Khalil or Kazem el-Khalil, also transliterated Kazim from the Arabic (كاظم إسماعيل الخليل) - was a lawyer, doyen member of the Lebanese parliament, seven-time minister of the Lebanese government and right-wing militia-leader from a Shiite feudal dynasty in Southern Lebanon.
