From desert rose to Syria's Lady Macbeth: Who really is Asma al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad's wife?

Asma al-Assad, the wife of deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has long been a controversial figure. Born and raised in London, she once symbolised modernity and progress.

However, her association with the brutal regime of her husband and the civil war that claimed over 500,000 lives has turned her into a reviled character.

With the collapse of the Assad government on December 8, 2024, and her reported flight to Moscow alongside her husband, attention has once again shifted to her extraordinary journey from a British upbringing to the heart of a dictatorship.

Who is Asma al-Assad?

Born on August 11, 1975, as Asma Fawaz Akhras, she grew up in Acton, West London, in a culturally conservative but outwardly integrated Syrian family. Her father, Dr. Fawaz Akhras, is a prominent cardiologist, while her mother, Sahar Akhras, was a diplomat at the Syrian Embassy in London.

She attended Twyford Church of England High School before moving to Queen’s College, Marylebone, for her A-levels.

Asma earned a first-class degree in computer science and French literature from King’s College London in 1996.

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Following her education, she embarked on a career in investment banking, working at Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. Known as “Emma” during her youth, a family friend described her to the Economist in 2021 as “very English” and disinterested in West Asian affairs.

Marriage to Bashar al-Assad

Asma’s life took a turn in the late 1990s when her mother reportedly encouraged her to reconnect with Bashar al-Assad, who was then studying ophthalmology in London.

In 2000, following the death of his father, Bashar became president of Syria after securing 97 per cent of the vote in a widely criticised election. Asma, who was planning to begin an MBA at Harvard, resigned from JP Morgan, citing love as her reason: “Who would choose Harvard over love?” she reportedly said.

The couple married in December 2000, and Asma assumed the role of Syria’s First Lady. Initially, she was seen as a reformist force, a glamorous figure in Christian Louboutin shoes and Chanel dresses, described in a Vogue profile as “a rose in the desert.” However, this image began to unravel as the regime’s violent crackdown on dissent escalated.

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From ‘Rose in the Desert’ to Controversial first lady

Asma’s early tenure as first lady included initiatives to promote social and economic development. Yet, her efforts were overshadowed by her husband’s authoritarian rule and the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Protests were met with brutal repression, and leaked emails in 2012 revealed her indulgence in luxury shopping while thousands perished in the conflict.

Her extravagant lifestyle , including purchases from Parisian jewelry stores and Chelsea boutiques, led critics to compare her to Imelda Marcos, the infamous wife of the Philippine dictator. That same year, the EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes against her.

In defence of her husband’s regime, she told Russian state TV in 2016: “I never thought of being anywhere else at all…Yes, I was offered the opportunity to leave Syria or rather to run from Syria. These offers included guarantees of safety and protection for my children and even financial security."

“It doesn’t take a genius to know what these people were really after. It was a deliberate attempt to shatter people’s confidence in their president,” she said.

Troubles for Asma

Asma al-Assad became a target of international legal scrutiny. In 2021, the UK’s Metropolitan Police opened a preliminary investigation into allegations that she incited terrorist acts and contributed to the regime’s systemic torture and use of chemical weapons.

Her name also appeared in US sanctions lists, which linked her to economic control over Syrian banking, telecommunications, and real estate sectors.

While her family members in London, including her cardiologist father, have not been implicated in wrongdoing, they have faced intense media scrutiny.

In 2018, Asma was diagnosed with breast cancer, a battle she publicly shared to project resilience. Earlier this year, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia , prompting her temporary withdrawal from public engagements.

Critics questioned the timing of these announcements, accusing the regime of using them as a distraction from political developments.

Where is Asma now?

Following Bashar al-Assad’s ousting, the family reportedly fled to Moscow , where Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered asylum. While the UK government has stated there has been “no contact or request” for her return, her British citizenship remains under debate.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer remarked : “We are far too early in any decisions about anything,”

I welcome Assad’s departure and the end of his brutal regime.

We need a political solution. We are speaking with regional allies and monitoring the situation.

We call on all sides to deliver peace and stability, the protection of civilians and minorities, and delivery of aid. pic.twitter.com/ND9V1Xmivk

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) December 8, 2024

“At the moment we are hours, days into a fast-moving situation and that’s why it’s very important for us to continue to talk to our allies, including here in discussions I’ve been having today, to make sure that what happens next is peaceful.

“There’s a lot of moving parts in that, a lot of risks, I absolutely accept, and challenges, but they are going to be best met if we work with our allies towards that peaceful resolution and the rejection, the utter rejection, of terrorism and violence,” said Starmer.

Also Read | FP Archives: Asma al-Assad - The pretty face of a brutal regime

With inputs from agencies