Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar ( ar, محمد إبراهيم الشعار; born 1950) is a Syrian military leader who was later named Syrian

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. Served as interior minister between 2011 and 2018. He is the current Vice President of the National Progressive Front.

Early life

Shaar was born into a

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

family in the rural village of Hafa in

Latakia Governorate Latakia Governorate, also transliterated as Ladhakia Governorate, ( ar, مُحافظة اللاذقية / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay ...

in 1950.

Career

Shaar joined the armed forces in 1971 and held a number of security positions, including chief of the military security in

Tartous ) , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = Tartus corniche Port of Tartus • Tartus beach and boulevard Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa • Al-Assad Stadium&n ...

, the chief of the military security in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, and the commander and chief of the Syrian military police. He was the commander of the military police prior to being appointed minister of interior. He was appointed interior minister in April 2011, replacing

Said Mohammad Sammour Said Mohammad Sammour ( ar, سعيد محمد سمور) (born 1950) is a Syrian military officer and politician who served as interior minister between 2009 and 2011. Early life and education Sammour was born in Jableh in 1950. He received a bac ...

Sanctions

On 9 May 2011, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

(EU) placed sanctions on Shaar along with 12 others. The

Official Journal of the European Union An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...

states the reason for sanctions against him as "involvement in violent treatment of demonstrators".

Swiss government The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...

also put him into sanction list in September 2011, citing the same reason given by the EU.

Personal life

Shaar is married and has two sons and three daughters. He is a Sunni Muslim.

Reports of death or injury

On 18 July 2012, there were conflicting reports on his fate, with

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

reporting that Syrian state run television confirmed that Shaar was killed following a bombing of a meeting of the Central Crisis Management Cell (CCMC) at the National Security headquarters in Damascus. However, later state TV reported that he survived although wounded. Additional reports stated that he, along with the country's intelligence chief, was in stable condition. On 19 December 2012, reports surfaced that Shaar had been admitted to the

American University in Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, au ...

hospital in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

a few days earlier, after sustaining unspecified injuries in a bombing. The attack took place in front of the ministry of interior in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

on 12 December, killing several and injuring more than 20. Shaar's injuries were not believed to be serious. On 26 December 2012, Shaar was reported to have cut short his treatment in Beirut due to a belief that he might be arrested by Lebanese officials for his role in a massacre of hundreds of people in Tripoli in 1986 and that he may be subject to international arrest warrants. He then returned to Damascus.

References