Asma al-Assad

Asma al-Assad (); born 11 August 1975; née Asma Fawaz al-Akhras (), is the First Lady of Syria. She was born in Acton, London after her family had emigrated to the United Kingdom from Homs, Syria. She married President Bashar al-Assad in December 2000, having previously pursued a career in investment banking.

Early life, education and career

Assad is the daughter of consultant cardiologist Fawaz Akhras and retired diplomat Sahar Otri al-Akhras, a Sunni family of Syrian origin. Assad grew up in Acton where she went to her local Church of England school. She finished her schooling at Queen's College in London, attended King's College London and graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Diploma in French Literature.

After university, Assad started work at Deutsche Bank Group in the Hedge Fund Management division with clients in Europe and the Far East. In 1998, she joined the Investment Banking division of J.P. Morgan, specializing in mergers and acquisitions for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Personal life

Assad returned to Syria in November 2000 and married Bashar al-Assad in December. They have three children: Hafez, Zein and Karim.

On 10 May 2011, a diplomatic source reported that Assad had taken her three children out of the country to...
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