100 Notable alumni of
Damascus University
Updated:
Damascus University is 289th in the world, 56th 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
- ophthalmologistpoliticianstatespersonmilitary leadermilitary physician
- Biography
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Bashar Hafez al-Assad is a Syrian former politician, doctor, and military officer who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until his overthrow in 2024 after the Syrian civil war. 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 1970 to 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 second president of Palestine and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) since 2005. He has also been the fourth chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) since 2004. Abbas is also a member of the Fatah party and was elected the party's chairman in 2009.
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Bassel al-Assad
- Occupations
- military officercivil engineerpolitician
- Biography
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Bassel al-Assad was a Syrian military officer, engineer and politician. He was the eldest son of 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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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 Assad 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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Bushra al-Assad
- 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 Damascus bombing, responsibility for which was claimed by a coalition of Syrian opposition rebel groups.
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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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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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Rifaat al-Assad
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in political science
- Occupations
- military personnelpolitician
- Biography
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Rifaat Ali Suleiman al-Assad was a Syrian military officer and politician. He was the younger brother of Hafez al-Assad and the uncle of Bashar al-Assad, who served successively as President of Syria. He is most famous for being the commanding officer of the ground operations of the 1982 Hama massacre.
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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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Abd al-Halim Khaddam
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1952 graduated with law degree
- Occupations
- diplomatlawyerpolitician
- 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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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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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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Dima Kandalaft
- Occupations
- singeractor
- Biography
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Dima Kandalaft is a Syrian actress and singer.
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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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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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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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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 1966 to 1970. Atassi was the first Syrian president to address the United Nations General Assembly, a record that stood until President Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed it in September 2025.
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Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti
- Occupations
- theologianphilosopherwriter
- Biography
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Muhammad Said Ramadan Al-Bouti was a renowned Syrian Sunni Muslim scholar and author. He was served as professor and vice dean at the Damascus University, also serving as the imam of the Umayyad Mosque.
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Jumana Murad
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Jumana Murad is a Syrian actress and producer.
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Adunis
- Occupations
- literary scholaruniversity teacherjournalistpoetliterary critic
- Biography
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Ali Ahmad Said Esber, also known by the pen name Adonis or Adunis (أدونيس [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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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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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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Rached Ghannouchi
- Occupations
- university teacherlawyerpolitician
- 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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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 government of Ba'athist Syria and served as foreign minister from 1984 to 2006, then as vice president until 2014.
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Michael Lüders
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied Arabic literature
- Occupations
- authorpolitical scientistnon-fiction writerIslamicistjournalist
- 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
- 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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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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Sa'dun Hammadi
- Occupations
- politicianbanker
- Biography
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Sa'dun Hammadi was an Iraqi politician, writer and economist who held various positions in the Iraqi state, most notably as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1974 to 1983, and later as the longest serving Speaker of the National Assembly under President Saddam Hussein from 1996 until the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
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Riyad Farid Hijab
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Riyad Farid Hijab is a Syrian politician and engineer who served as Prime Minister of Syria from June to August 2012 under President Bashar al-Assad. He previously served as Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform from 2011 to 2012.
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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 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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Nazim al-Kudsi
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Nazim al-Qudsi, was a Syrian politician who served as the president of Syria from 14 December 1961 to 8 March 1963.
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Bashar Jaafari
- Occupations
- diplomatpropagandistpolitician
- Biography
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Bashar Jaafari, also Ja'afari, is a Syrian diplomat who served as the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations (PermRep) from 2006 to 2020. As PermRep, Jaafari was the Assad regime's lead negotiator during the Syrian peace process with the Syrian opposition.
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Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
- Occupations
- poetIslamic jurist
- Biography
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Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi is a Syrian Islamic scholar. A descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, al-Yaqoubi is a follower of the Maliki and Hanafi schools of thought.
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Lena Chamamyan
- Occupations
- singersongwritercomposer
- Biography
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Lena Chamamyan is a Syrian 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
- presentertalk show hosttelevision presenterradio personality
- 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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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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Wael al-Halqi
- Occupations
- physiciangynecologistpolitician
- 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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Moaz Khatib
- Occupations
- politicianengineerimamkhaṭībauthor
- 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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Faisal Miqdad
- 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 last vice president of Ba'athist Syria from September until 8 December 2024. He previously served as Foreign Minister of Syria from 2020 to 2024 and as Syria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2003 to 2006.
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Omar Abu Risha
- Occupations
- diplomatplaywrightpoet
- Biography
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Omar Abu Risha was a Syrian poet and diplomat. He served as the Syrian ambassador to the United States from 1961 to 1964 and was a renowned poet who lyricized Fī Sabīli al-Majd (In Pursuit of Glory), Syria's de facto national anthem.
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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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Waciny Laredj
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Waciny Laredj is an Algerian novelist, short story writer and academic.
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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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Edmund “Ed” Husain
- Occupations
- autobiographer
- Biography
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Edmund “Ed” Husain (born 25 December 1974) is a published British American author, co-founder of the counter-extremism think tank Quilliam Foundation, Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). As a political advisor he has worked with leaders and governments across the world. Husain's work at CFR focuses primarily 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. At Columbia and Georgetown Universities, he teaches classes on global security, Arab-Israeli peace, Race, Religion, and Terrorism, and the shared intellectual roots of the West and Islam.
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Hazza' al-Majali
- Occupations
- civil servanteconomistlawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Hazza' Barakat al-Majali was a Jordanian politician who 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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Burhan Ghalioun
- Occupations
- university teachersociologistpolitician
- 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. Al-Hourani is the grandfather of Akram Al-Hourani, a Syrian-Australian Professor and Engineer.
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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.
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Ali Farzat
- Occupations
- caricaturistbusinesspersonjournalist
- 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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Moussa al-Omar
- Occupations
- journalisttelevision presenter
- Biography
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Moussa al-Omar is a Syrian journalist and presenter.
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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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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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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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Suheir Atassi
- Occupations
- dissidentlawyerpolitician
- Biography
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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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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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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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Maram al-Masri
- Occupations
- poetwritertranslator
- 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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Maḥmūd Shuqayr
- Years
- 1941-.. (age 85)
- 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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Riyad Nassan Agha
- Occupations
- literary scholardiplomatpoliticianwriter
- Biography
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Riyad Naasan Agha was a Syrian politician. He served as minister of culture of Syria from 21 February 2006 to 3 October 2010, and also as the country's Ambassador to Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Agha held a PhD. degree in philosophy from the University of Damascus.
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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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Jawad Abu Hatab
- Occupations
- politicianphysician
- Biography
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Jawad Abu Hatab is a Syrian politician. 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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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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Sabah Qabbani
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Sabah Qabbani was appointed ambassador of Syria to the United States by President Hafez al-Assad 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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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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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
- writernovelistshort story writerphysician
- Biography
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Abdul Salam al-Ujayli was a Syrian novelist, doctor and politician.
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Fatima Jibrell
- Occupations
- humanitarianenvironmentalistconservationist
- 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
- statespersoneconomistpolitician
- 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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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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Mazen Darwish
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 52)
- Occupations
- lawyerhuman rights defender
- Biography
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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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Razan Ghazzawi
- Occupations
- journalisthuman rights defender
- Biography
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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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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
-
Bashir al-Azma, was a Syrian doctor and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Syria from 16 April to 14 September 1962.
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Jamal al-Atassi
- Occupations
- politicianwriterjournalist
- 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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Abdullatif Abdulhamid
- Occupations
- actorscreenwriterfilm director
- Biography
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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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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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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 served as Deputy Prime Minister of Palestine and is a member (independent) of the PLO Executive Committee. From 17 March 2007 to 14 June 2007, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. 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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Omran al-Zoubi
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied law
- Occupations
- university teacherlawyerpolitician
- 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
- literary criticprofessorwritertheatre criticcritic
- 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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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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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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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
- diplomatwriterpolitician
- 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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Mano Khalil
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorcinematographerfilm producer
- Biography
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Mano Khalil is a Kurdish-Swiss film director living in Switzerland.
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Ghassan Ibrahim
- Occupations
- economistpoliticianjournalist
- Biography
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Ghassan Ibrahim is the Editor in Chief of Global Arab Network and a Syrian journalist.
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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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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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Orwa Nyrabia
- Occupations
- actorscreenwritercinematographerwriterfilm director
- Biography
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Orwa Nyrabia is an independent documentary film festival artistic director, producer, filmmaker, trainer, human rights defender and, together with his partner, filmmaker Diana El Jeiroudi, co-founder of DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival in Syria. Nyrabia is a resident of Berlin, Germany, since the end of 2013 In 2018, Nyrabia became the artistic director of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), and in November 2024 he announced he would be stepping down in July 2025.
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Sari Hanafi
- Occupations
- sociologist
- Biography
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Sari Hanafi is 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 editor of Idafat, a sociology journal. In 2018, Hanafi founded "Athar", a research portal.
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Ibrahim Makhous
- Occupations
- diplomatphysicianpolitician
- 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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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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Liwaa Yazji
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- Studied English-language literature
- Occupations
- playwrightfilm directorwriterpoetfilm producer
- 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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Zaina Erhaim
- Occupations
- writerjournalistteacherwar correspondent
- 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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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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Noura Ghazi
- Occupations
- lawyerhuman rights defender
- Biography
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Noura Ghazi, or Noura Ghazi Safadi (نورة غازي صفدي) (born September 30, 1981) is a Syrian human rights lawyer and activist. Her husband, the Syrian-Palestinian Bassel Khartabil (Arabic: باسل خرطبيل), or Bassel Safadi (Arabic: باسل صفدي) was an open-source software developer and one of Syria's leading pro-free speech and democracy activists. He was arrested by the Syrian government in 2012 and executed in 2015.
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Kazem al-Khalil
- Enrolled in Damascus University
- In 1931 studied law
- Occupations
- condottierolawyerjudgepolitician
- 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.
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Ibrahim Hamidi
- Occupations
- journalisteditor-in-chief
- Biography
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Ibrahim Hamidi is a London-based Syrian journalist who is a senior diplomatic editor for the Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat, and who contributes to severalinternational media outlets and think tanks. Previously, he served as head of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) office in Damascus, and of the Damascus bureau of Arab daily newspaper Al-Hayat, and as a senior writer for Forward Magazine in Damascus. Hamidi's work focuses on strategic issues in the Middle East, with special insight into Syria's internal and regional politics. He is also a Research Fellow and co-founder of the Syrian Studies Center at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Hamidi is also a co-founder of the Arab Investigative Journalism Program (ARIJ).
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Diana El Jeiroudi
- Occupations
- film producercinematographerdirectordocumentary filmmakerfilm director
- Biography
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Diana El Jeiroudi, (Arabic: ديانا الجيرودي; born 1977) is a Berlin-based, Syrian independent film director and producer. El Jeiroudi’s films as director were celebrated at many festivals, including the Venice Film Festival, IDFA, DokLeipzig, Visions du Réel, CPH:DOX... among others. Her producing credits include the Sundance 2023 film 5 Seasons of Revolution, the Cannes Film Festival 2014 selection Silvered Water, the IDFA 2013 selection The Mulberry House, among others. She was the first Syrian to be a juror in Cannes Film Festival in 2014, when she was part of the first Documentary Film Award jury in the festival. Together with her partner Orwa Nyrabia, El Jeiroudi was also the first Syrian known to be invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017. El Jeiroudi was also a co-founder of DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival in Syria and DOX BOX e.V. non-profit association in Germany.
