Hafez Assad Chronology

A look at key dates in the life of Syrian President Hafez Assad, who died Saturday at age 69.

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1930

Oct. 6: Assad born in Qurdaha, an Alawite Muslim village in northwestern Syria, then ruled by France.

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1948

May: Syria, independent since 1946, and other Arab states invade newly declared state of Israel. Arab failure to crush Jewish state leads to decades of instability in Syria and conflict in region.

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1966

February: The Baath party’s radical left wing, dominated by minority Alawites and Druse army officers, overthrows Maj. Gen. Amin Hafez. Among coup activists is Maj. Gen. Hafez Assad, who is named defense minister.

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1967

June: Israel captures Syria’s Golan Heights--a strategic plateau and the base for Syrian shelling of Israeli villages--in Six-Day War.

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1970

November: Assad seizes power in bloodless coup after Jordan mauls Syrian forces sent to aid Palestinians fighting King Hussein.

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1971

March: Parliament elects Assad president for seven-year term.

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1973

October: Syria and Egypt jointly launch surprise attacks on Israel to recapture territory lost in 1967. Syria almost regains Golan, but Israelis rally and push Assad’s forces back.

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1976

January: Assad, alarmed by civil war in neighboring Lebanon, sends forces into that country.

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1979

March: Egypt signs peace treaty with Israel. Assad condemns move.

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1980

June: Amid escalating rebellion by Muslim fundamentalists, Assad narrowly survives assassination attempt in Damascus.

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1981

December: Israel annexes the Golan Heights.

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1982

February: Assad sends forces into the central city of Hama to crush Muslim Brotherhood uprising. Up to 10,000 people killed.

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1983

June: Assad expels Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from Syria in bid to seize control of Palestinian cause. Syrians sponsor a mutiny by PLO radicals against Arafat in Lebanon, driving him out of his last stronghold.

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November: Assad has heart attack. While he is ill, rivals flex their muscles, including his younger brother Rifaat.

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1984

May: Assad banishes Rifaat.

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1990

August: Iraq invades Kuwait. Assad sends 29,000 troops to join U.S.-led coalition, establishing himself firmly in Western camp.

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1991

July: Assad agrees to U.S.-sponsored peace talks with Israel, attends Madrid Peace Conference in November 1991.

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1996

March: On-off peace negotiations end when Israel breaks off talks after Syria refuses to condemn series of terror attacks in Israel.

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1999

December: Israeli-Syrian peace talks resume in the United States.

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2000

January: Talks postponed indefinitely over Syria preconditioning progress on Israel’s return of Golan Heights. Israel wants to retain sovereignty over Sea of Galilee at foot of Golan.

March: Assad meets President Clinton in Geneva, but their talks fail to narrow the gap with Israel to enable peace talks to resume.

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June 10: Assad dies at age 69.

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Source: Associated Press