page_title: Presidency of Hafez al-Assad
section_title: Personality cult
hierarchical_section_title: Presidency of Hafez al-Assad / Domestic policies / Personality cult
caption_attribution_description: English: Syrian President Nureddin al-Atassi (first from left) shaking hands with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser (third from left). Defense Minister Hafez al-Assad in the center. The three are meeting in Cairo to discuss the War of Attrition and the issues surrounding Israel's occupation of Arab territories during the 1967 War العربية: الرئيس السوري نور الدين الأتاسي (الأول من اليسار) يصافح الرئيس المصري جمال عبد الناصر (الثالث من اليسار). وزير الدفاع حافظ الأسد في المركز. ويجتمع الثلاثة في القاهرة لمناقشة حرب الاستنزاف والقضايا المحيطة باحتلال إسرائيل للأراضي العربية خلال حرب عام 1967
context_page_description: Hafez al-Assad served as the President of Syria from 1970 until his death in 2000. As of 2020, he is the longest-serving Syrian head of state. He was succeeded by his son, Bashar al-Assad.
context_section_description: Assad developed a state-sponsored cult of personality in order to maintain power. Because he wanted to become an Arab leader, he often represented himself as a successor to Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser, having risen to power in November 1970, a few weeks after Nasser's death. He modelled his presidential system on Nasser's, hailed Nasser for his pan-Arabic leadership, and in public he displayed photographs of Nasser alongside posters of himself.
  Assad also demonstrated his admiration for Salah ad-Din, a Muslim Kurdish leader who in the 12th century unified the Muslim East and defeating the Crusaders in 1187 and subsequently conquered Jerusalem. Assad displayed a large painting of Salah ad-Din's tomb in Damascus in his office and issued a currency bill featuring Salah ad-Din. In his speeches and conversations, Assad frequently hailed Salah ad-Din's successes and his victory over the Crusaders while equating Israel with the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Crusaders' state.
  Portraits of Assad, often depicting him engaging in heroic activities, were placed in public spaces. He named numerous places and institutions after himself and members of his family. In schools, children were taught to sing songs of adulation about Hafez al-Assad. Teachers began each lesson with the song "Our eternal leader, Hafez al-Assad". Assad was sometimes portrayed with apparently divine properties. Sculptures and portraits depicted him alongside the prophet Mohammad, and after his mother's death, the government produced portraits of her surrounded by a halo. Syrian officials were made to refer to him as 'the sanctified one' (al-Muqaddas). This strategy was also pursued by Assad's son, Bashar al-Assad.
caption: Assad (center) and Nureddin al-Atassi (left) meeting with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, 1969. Assad often depicted himself Nasser's successor as "Arab leader".
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