Ali Hammoud ( ar, علي حمود, born 1944) is a former Syrian intelligence officer and general who served as

minister of interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

from 2001 to 2004.

Early life

Hammoud was born in

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

into an

Alawite The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isl ...

family in 1944.

Career

Hammoud served as head of the general security administration and involved in suppressing the Islamic revolt during the period of 1976–1982. He was an intelligence officer served in

West Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. Then he was made Syria's military intelligence chief in Beirut and had the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. During his term in Lebanon, he had close ties with

Emile Lahoud Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

. In May 1988 while serving as military intelligence chief in Lebanon Hammoud and three other Syrian military officers, Saeed Bairaqdar,

Ghazi Kanaan Ghazi Kanaan ( ar, غازي كنعان; 1942 – 12 October 2005), also known as Abu Yo'roub, was Syria's interior minister from 2004 to 2005, and long-time head of Syria's security apparatus in Lebanon. His violent death during an investigat ...

and Zuheir Mustat, escaped an assassination in Ghobeiry district of Beirut. Hammoud was named the head of the General Security Directorate in October 2001, replacing Ali Houri in the post. Shortly after he was appointed interior minister in December 2001 in a cabinet reshuffle by

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

and replaced Mohammad Harba as interior minister. Hammoud was also promoted to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

was headed by Prime Minister

Muhammad Mustafa Mero Muhammad Mustafa Mero ( ar, محمد مصطفى ميرو, Muḥammad Muṣṭafā Mīrū; 1941 – 22 December 2020) was a Syrian politician who served as Prime Minister of Syria from 7 March 2000 to 10 September 2003. Early life and education M ...

Hisham Ikhtiar Major General Hisham Ikhtiyar ( ar, هشام اختيار); 1941 – 20 July 2012) (family name also transliterated as Ikhtiar, Bakhtiar, Bekhityar, Bekhtyar and other variants) was a Syrian military official, and a national security adviser to p ...

succeeded Hammoud as the head of the General Security Directorate. Hammoud served as interior minister until October 2004 when he was replaced by Ghazi Kanaan in a cabinet reshuffle.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammoud, Ali 1944 births Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region politicians Living people People from Homs Syrian Alawites Syrian generals Syrian ministers of interior Survivors of terrorist attacks