Mohammed Makhlouf

Mohammed Makhlouf was born on October 19, 1932 in Bustan al-Basha, a neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria. He was the brother of Anisa Makhlouf, who married Hafez al-Assad in 1957. He initially worked for Syrian Air, the national airline of Syria. After his brother-in-law became president in 1971, he made a fortune both by managing government companies and in the private sector. He became general manager of the state-owned tobacco company as well as charging foreign companies a 10% commission on imported tobacco. He also became a partner in the Al Furat Petroleum company, whose shares were distributed among the Syrian government and foreign companies, including Shell plc. His company obtained services related to oil fields from the Lead Contracting & Trading Company, which was owned by his son-in-law, Ghassan Muhanna. He was considered one of the most influential and wealthy figures in Syria, and his son Rami inherited his business empire. He was also the uncle of Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his father as president in 2000. He was close to the Assad family and had significant ties to the Syrian regime. He was subject to European Union sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, among individuals with close ties to the Syrian regime during the Syrian Civil War. He appealed to the European General Court, claiming that the sanctions had violated his privacy and affected his standard of living, but the Council rejected his appeal. A leaked document from his HSBC bank account revealed that he had registered as an agent for Philip Morris, which owns the Marlboro brand, and as an exclusive agent for Mitsubishi Motors and Coca-Cola. He was married twice. He had seven children with his first wife, Ghada Adeeb Muhanna, including: Rami, Hafez, Iyad, Ihab, Shala, Kinda, and Sarah. Then, he married Hala Tarif Al-Maghout during his stay in Russia, and had one son, Ahmed. On September 12, 2020, he died at Al Assad University Hospital in Damascus, due to complications from COVID-19.