Anisa Makhlouf

Anisa Makhlouf (; 5 November 1930 – 6 February 2016) was the matriarch of the Syrian Al-Assad family, which ruled the country from 1971 to December 2024. The wife of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Makhlouf remained the Syrian First Lady from 1971 until 2000. Her son Bashar al-Assad was President of Syria from 2000 until the Assad regime was overthrown in 2024.

Biography Makhlouf was born in Latakia, Syria, to the influential Alawite Makhlouf family from Bustan al-Basha, Latakia Governorate. She was the daughter of Ahmed Makhlouf and Saada Sulayman al-Assad, Hafez al-Assad's aunt.

She married her cousin, Hafez al-Assad, an officer of the Syrian Arab Air Force, in 1957. She is believed to have advocated for a heavy, military crackdown on Syrian protesters and rebels during the ongoing Civil War.

Death Anisa Makhlouf died in Damascus on 6 February 2016 from undisclosed causes.