Muhsen Bilal ( ar, محسن بلال) (born 1944) is a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, ambassador and Ba'athist politician.

Early life and education

Bilal was born into a prominent

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 Burghalieh, Tartus Governorate, in 1944. His father lived in Argentina between 1930 and 1936, where he worked as an Arabic teacher. He studied medicine at the University of Padua, graduating in 1970. In 1976, he specialized in surgery in Italy. Then he received his PhD in medicine and surgery from the University of Pennsylvania with the specialization in

liver transplantation Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...

. Bilal married Dr. Faten Rustum, a prominent fellow doctor.

Career

After graduation, Bilal became the head of surgery at the Al Assad University Hospital. He then served as a professor of surgery at the faculty of medicine at Damascus University from 1977 to 2001. His political career started in 1977 when he was elected to the Peoples Assembly. In 1981, he was named the chairman of the Arab and foreign affairs committee, and served in this position until 1985. He led the Syrian delegation at the 1982 World Peace Conference in Prague. In 2001, he became Syria's ambassador to Spain, and he held this post until he was appointed minister of information to the cabinet headed by then prime minister Mohammad Naji Otari in February 2006. He replaced

Mahdi Dakhlallah Mahdi Dakhlallah ( ar, مهدي دخل الله) (born 1947) is a Syrian Ba'ath party politician and diplomat. He served at different positions, including editor-in-chief, information minister and ambassador. Early life and education Dakhlallah ...

as information minister. When Bilal was in office, he acted as chief spokesperson for the Syrian government during the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. Bilal's term ended in April 2011 when he was succeeded by Adnan Mahmoud.

Personal life

Bilal speaks Arabic, English, Spanish, and Italian.

References

External links

Interview in Italian as Syrian Minister of Information (November 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilal, Mohsen 1944 births Living people University of Padua alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Syrian ministers of information Ambassadors of Syria to Spain Damascus University faculty Syrian Alawites Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region Syrian surgeons 21st-century diplomats 21st-century Syrian politicians