Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar (Arabic: محمد إبراهيم الشعار; born 1950) is a Syrian military officer and former Minister of the Interior in Syria who served from 2011 to 2018. He is the current Vice President of the National Progressive Front.

Quick Facts His Excellency, Vice President of the National Progressive Front ...
Mohammad Sha'ar
محمد الشعار
Vice President of the National Progressive Front
Assumed office
26 November 2018
PresidentBashar al-Assad
Minister of the Interior
In office
14 April 2011  26 November 2018
PresidentBashar al-Assad
Prime MinisterAdel Safar
Riyad Farid Hijab
Wael Nader al-Halqi
Imad Khamis
Preceded bySaid Mohammad Sammour
Succeeded byMohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun
Commander of the Syrian Military Police
In office
?  14 April 2011
PresidentBashar al-Assad
Succeeded byAbdulaziz al-Shalal
Personal details
Born1950 (age 7374)
Al-Haffa, Syria
Political partyBa'ath Party
Other political
affiliations
National Progressive Front
Children5
Military service
Allegiance Syria
Rank Major General[1]
Battles/warsSyrian Civil War
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Early life

Shaar was born into a Sunni family in the village of Hafa in Latakia Governorate in 1950.[2][3]

Career

Shaar joined the armed forces in 1971 and held a number of security positions, including chief of the military security in Tartous, the chief of the military security in Aleppo, and the commander and chief of the Syrian military police.[3] He was the commander of the military police prior to being appointed minister of interior in April 2011,[2] replacing Said Mohammad Sammour.[4][5]

Sanctions

On 9 May 2011, the European Union (EU) placed sanctions on Shaar along with 12 others.[6][7] The Official Journal of the European Union states the reason for sanctions against him as "involvement in violent treatment of demonstrators".[8] Swiss government also put him into sanction list in September 2011, citing the same reason given by the EU.[9]

Personal life

Shaar is married and has two sons and three daughters.[2] He is a Sunni Muslim.[10]

Reports of death or injury

On 18 July 2012, there were conflicting reports on his fate, with CNN reporting that Syrian state run television confirmed that Shaar was killed following a bombing of a meeting of the Central Crisis Management Cell (CCMC) at the National Security headquarters in Damascus.[11] However, later state TV reported that he survived although wounded.[12] Additional reports stated that he, along with the country's intelligence chief, was in stable condition.[13]

On 19 December 2012, reports surfaced that Shaar had been admitted to the American University in Beirut hospital in Lebanon a few days earlier, after sustaining unspecified injuries in a bombing. The attack took place in front of the ministry of interior in Damascus on 12 December, killing several and injuring more than 20. Shaar's injuries were not believed to be serious.[14]

On 26 December 2012, Shaar was reported to have cut short his treatment in Beirut due to a belief that he might be arrested by Lebanese officials for his role in a massacre of hundreds of people in Tripoli in 1986 and that he may be subject to international arrest warrants. He then returned to Damascus.[15]

See also

References

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