Anisa Makhlouf

AnisaMakhlouf (Arabic: أَنِيسَةُ مَخْلُوفٍ, romanized: ʾAnīsah Maḵlūf; 5 November 1930 – 6 February 2016) was the matriarch of the Syrian Al-Assad family, which ruled the country from 1971 to December 2024. The wife of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Makhlouf remained the Syrian First Lady from 1971 until 2000. Her son Bashar al-Assad was President of Syria from 2000 until the Assad regime was overthrown in 2024.