Fahd Jassem al-Freij ( ar, فهد جاسم الفريج) (born 17 January 1950) is the former

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, took office on 18 July 2012 and left office on 1 January 2018.

Early life and education

Freij was born in Rahjan in 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 dis ...

Arab tribe on 17 January 1950. He joined the

Syrian Arab Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six-D ...

in 1968, and graduated as an armoured corps lieutenant from the

Homs Military Academy Homs Military Academy is a military educational and training institution located in Homs, Syria. Homs Military Academy was founded in 1933 by France during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. During the period of French administration the Ac ...

in 1971. Freij attended different courses and a higher military education: * Bachelor in Military Sciences, Armoured Officer,

, in 1971, * Staff Course, * Airborne paratroops course, * General Command and Staff Course, * Higher Staff Course (War Course).

Career

On 8 August 2011, Freij was appointed

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the Syrian Arab Army during the Syrian civil war. In December 2011, defected Syrian Army officers reported that prior to his appointment of Chief of Staff, al-Freij commanded the Syrian Army Special Forces in the regions of

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jord ...

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

and

Hama Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial ...

during the Syrian uprising. However, on 18 July 2012, after Defense Minister

Dawoud Rajiha Dawoud Abdallah Rajiha ( ar, داود راجحة‎; 1947 – 18 July 2012), forename sometimes transliterated Dawood or Daoud, surname sometimes transliterated Rajha, was the Syrian minister of defense from 2011 to July 2012 when he was assas ...

was assassinated in the 2012 Damascus bombing, Freij was appointed by Bashar al-Assad to succeed Rajiha. He was also named as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces. On 1 January 2018, Lieutenant General

Ali Abdullah Ayyoub General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub ( ar, علي عبد الله أيوب, ʿAlī ʿAbd Allāh Ayyūb) (born 28 April 1952 in Latakia) is the current Deputy Prime Minister of Syria, senior Syrian Arab Army officer and former Minister of Defense. He wa ...

was the successor of al-Freij as Minister of Defense.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freij, Fahd Jassem 1950 births Living people Syrian Sunni Muslims Syrian ministers of defense Chiefs of Staff of the Syrian Army People of the Syrian civil war Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region People from Hama Governorate