Maher Abd Al-Hafiz Hajjar (born 1968) is a Syrian politician, MP for Aleppo for the opposition

People's Will Party The People's Will Party ( ar, حزب الإرادة الشعبية, translit=Ḥizb al-ʾIrāda aš-Šaʿbiyya) is a political party in Syria. History In 2000, shortly after the convention of the 9th Congress of the Syrian Communist Party, 80% ...

and a candidate for the

2014 Syrian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Syria on 3 June 2014. There is a scholarly consensus that the elections were not democratic. The result was a landslide victory for Bashar al-Assad, who received over 90% of the valid votes. He was sworn in ...

. Hajjar was born in Aleppo in 1968 into a prominent Sunni Muslim family of religious teachers. He graduated from

Aleppo University University of Aleppo ( ar, جَامِعَة حَلَب, Jāmiʿat Ḥalab, also called Aleppo University) is a public university located in Aleppo, Syria. It is the second largest university in Syria after the University of Damascus. During 20 ...

with a diploma in Linguistic Studies. He joined the Syrian Communist Party in 1984 and when the party split in 2000 he joined

Qadri Jamil Qadri Jamil ( ar, قدري جميل) is a Syrian politician, media editor and economist. He is one of the top leaders of the People's Will Party and the Popular Front for Change and Liberation,People's Will Party The People's Will Party ( ar, حزب الإرادة الشعبية, translit=Ḥizb al-ʾIrāda aš-Šaʿbiyya) is a political party in Syria. History In 2000, shortly after the convention of the 9th Congress of the Syrian Communist Party, 80% ...

. He formed the party's branch in the city of Aleppo and became secretary of the party's council. He stood as an independent in the 2007 parliamentary election but failed to get elected. He stood again in the 2012 parliamentary election. This election took place during the Syrian Civil War after the

Constitution of Syria The current Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic was adopted on 26 February 2012, replacing one that had been in force since 13 March 1973. The current constitution delineates the basic function of that state's government. Among other things, ...

had been amended to remove reference to the leadership of the Ba'ath Party. He was elected to the People's Council of Syria as one of only 5 of 250 MPs that were not part of the ruling National Progressive Front. He was nominated as one of only three candidates for the

running against President Bashar al-Assad. The armed opposition described it as just an attempt "''to give legitimacy''" to the election and that Hajjar had been persuaded to stand by the Syrian security services. Given that the

requires at least 35 MPs to nominate a presidential candidate, nearly all of his nominations must have come from either independents or MPs from the ruling National Progressive Front. After his nomination, the People's Will Party distanced themselves party from Hajjar, claiming that Hajjar was no longer a member of either the party or the Popular Front for Liberation and Change and that "''Hajjar represented only himself''".تصريح ناطق رسمي باسم حزب الإرادة الشعبية (Ar)
, ''Kassioun'', 27 April 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hajjar, Maher Living people Syrian Communist Party politicians 1968 births People's Will Party politicians Members of the People's Assembly of Syria Syrian Sunni Muslims People from Aleppo University of Aleppo alumni