Ali Aslan

Ali Aslan (; born 1932) is a retired Syrian military officer. He served as chief of staff of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, and was a member of the Central Committee of the Ba'ath Party and a close confidant of the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad.

Aslan was not only considered to be powerful member of the late Hafez al-Assad's inner circle, but he was also regarded by outside observers as having significantly improved Syrian military readiness while operating under severe financial constraints. He was born in 1932.

Career Aslan commanded 5th mechanized infantry in 1973.

At the beginning of the 1980s Aslan was deputy chief of staff and head of operations.

After the death of Hafez al-Assad in 2000, a 9-member committee was formed to oversee the transition period, and Aslan was among its members. In addition, he became a member of the Baath Party's central committee in the Summer of 2000. Aslan was one of the senior officials, who contributed to secure the rule of Bashar al-Assad. However, he was relieved from his post as chief of staff by Bashar al-Assad in January 2002, as part of the younger president's program of reform regarding personnel changes. Aslan was later appointed military advisor to the president. In June 2005, Aslan was removed from the central committee of the Baath Party, and he retired from politics.

His nephew Qusay was married to Bashar al-Assad's cousin, Falak Jamil, but they divorced.

Honours National honours