More than six months after his rise to power in a coup against Bashar Assad, new details are emerging about the close relatives of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a figure who had long remained in the shadows as he led the jihadi rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to power. Not all in his family share a favorable view of Israel.
Ahmad al-Sharaa’s father, Dr. Hussein al-Sharaa, is an economist, writer and petroleum scholar. He was born in the 1940s in the village of Fiq of the Golan Heights, then under Syrian control, roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Quneitra. His father, Ali, owned much of the village’s land—reportedly about 85% of it.
As a young man, Hussein joined protests against the Ba'ath Party coup in 1963. During one demonstration, an assassination attempt on him ended in the accidental killing of a young girl. He was jailed for four days and subsequently fled Syria, first to Jordan and then Iraq, where he earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Baghdad.
In the early 1970s, Hussein returned to Syria and began working in the Oil Ministry. When tensions escalated between the Ba'ath regimes in Syria and Iraq, he left for Saudi Arabia, where he worked in the oil sector and wrote extensively on the topic, publishing several books.
He returned to Syria in the late 1980s, was imprisoned again for a time, and later became an advisor in the Oil Ministry before eventually leaving the role. Reports say the family also ran a store in the upscale al-Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus. After the Syrian civil war broke out, Hussein relocated to Egypt.
In March, Hussein was photographed at the presidential palace in Damascus during Eid al-Fitr prayers. When he extended his hand to his son Ahmad, the president bent down and kissed it—a moment that went viral on Syrian social media. Hussein frequently posts his opinions online.
In a June 16 Facebook post, amid the war with Iran, he wrote: “This reckless [Benjamin] Netanyahu thinks Iran is just Hezbollah and Hamas. He doesn’t understand that Iran is a strong state with tremendous capabilities. Its response was thunderous. Yes, it was, and still is, powerful. For the first time, we’re seeing the scale of destruction in the occupied Palestinian cities.”
In another post in May, he harshly criticized Israel, writing: “The Zionist enemy state is attacking under the pretense of protecting Syrian Druze, as if it cares more than the Syrian state or its people. This is done with the belief that the new Syrian state will remain silent, as it had in the past.
“Israel has been suppressing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for two years, demolishing and uprooting homes and everyone in the region watches silently—but on Syria, we will not stay quiet. It will reach you from where you least expect it.”
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The president’s wife, Latifa al-Droubi, originally from Syria’s Homs province, holds a master's degree in Arabic language and literature. After years of rumors about her, she was publicly introduced in January during a meeting between President al-Sharaa and a group of Syrian women living in the U.S.
He confirmed that she is his only wife and said he loves her deeply. In February, she was seen with him for the first time during Umrah pilgrimage ceremonies in Mecca and has since become a public figure, appearing at several official events.
In a June speech before a delegation of women from across Syria, al-Sharaa praised al-Droubi for staying by his side as they moved through 49 different homes, some of them caves, often under attack.
He said she refused to leave his side. During the same event, he also spoke about his mother, who, he said, always believed he was alive despite rumors to the contrary. Al-Droubi was later seen wiping away tears at the launch of a new “Syrian identity” initiative—footage that quickly spread online. The couple reportedly has three children.
Another figure recently revealed is the president’s brother, Dr. Maher al-Sharaa, a gynecologist who lived for years in Russia. He’s married to Tatyana Zakirova, whose family reportedly holds extensive business ties in Russia, including lucrative government contracts.
In April, Maher was appointed secretary-general of the presidency. His appointment sparked concerns that Syria might be heading toward the establishment of a new ruling dynasty rather than a democratic system. Before this, he briefly served as acting health minister from December 2024 to March 2025.
Ahmad al-Sharaa has other siblings as well. One brother, Hazem al-Sharaa, accompanied him on an official visit to Saudi Arabia in February. Hazem holds a Ph.D. in economics from the American University in Cairo and is believed to head the Syrian Investment Authority, though this has not been officially confirmed.
Another brother, Jamal al-Sharaa, was seen in April alongside Syria’s culture minister, Mohammad Saleh, at an event that drew controversy online as some participants were allegedly affiliated with the previous Assad regime. The president’s office later clarified that Jamal holds no official government position.
In June, Arab social media shared footage of a reunion in Daraa between President al-Sharaa and a woman introduced as his aunt. SyriaTV reported she is his father's aunt. In a short interview, she said she hadn’t seen Ahmad in 30 years but had met his father.
Another emotional moment came in December 2024 when the president visited his old elementary school in Damascus’ al-Mezzeh neighborhood and met with the principal, Hifa Kweidar.
The president also has familial ties to the former regime. His father’s cousin is Farouk al-Sharaa, a longtime Syrian politician who served as vice president under Bashar Assad until being removed in 2014 along with other senior Ba'ath Party officials. Farouk also served as foreign minister and represented Syria at the U.S.-brokered Camp David peace talks with Israel more than two decades ago.
First published: 15:42, 07.18.25