Shafiq al-Fayadh (1937 – 8 October 2015) ( ar, شفيق الفياض) was the commander of the Syrian 3rd Division and a close adviser to President

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 19 ...

. He was also one of the members of his close circle.

Early life

Fayadh was born in the village of Ayb al-Arus, near Jableh, to an Alawite family of the prominent Kalbiyya clan. Other members of the clan include Fayadh's cousin,

.Biography for Shafiq Fayyad - silobreaker
His son ‘Ala is married to Lamia, the daughter of Rifaat al-Assad. Another of his sons married into a Christian family, whilst another married into a Shiite family.

Career

The 3rd Division under Fayadh played an extremely important role for the government of

. The unit, under Fayadh, was one of the first to go into Lebanon in 1976. Fayadh played an important role during the Islamic uprising in Syria, occupying Aleppo with the 3rd Division in 1980, and taking part in the Hama massacre. The Division was deployed near Damascus, in order to protect the government against potential coups. Fayadh was retired in June 2005 as part of a restructuring program of the Syrian Army designed to pave the way for the succession of the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...

to Bashar al-Assad from

Death

Fayadh died on 8 October 2015, suffering from illness.

References

1937 births 2015 deaths Assad family People of the Islamic uprising in Syria Syrian military personnel Syrian Alawites People from Latakia Governorate {{Syria-mil-bio-stub