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Bashar al-Assad is the current president of Syria and has been serving in this position since 17 July 2000. Over the years, he has also had a major impact on Syria as the commander-in-chief of the country's Armed Forces. In 2011, his decision to impose military sieges on protesters participating in the Arab Spring resulted in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.
John of Damascus was a Christian apologist, priest, and monk. A polymath, John contributed to various fields, such as philosophy, theology, law, and music. He also wrote several works explaining the Christian faith. The hymns which he composed are still used in Eastern Christian practice as well as in western Lutheranism.
Nizar Qabbani was a Syrian writer, diplomat, publisher, and poet. Renowned for incorporating themes like eroticism, religion, love, feminism, and Arab nationalism into his poetry, Qabbani's poems have achieved worldwide acclaim; they have been translated into many languages, including English and Russian. Regarded as Syria's National Poet, Qabbani is also one of the most respected poets in the Arab world.
Canadian pornographer Feras Antoon is best known as co-founder and CEO of the privately held Canadian company called MindGeek that mainly focuses on pornography. It is considered to be the largest pornography company across the world and runs many popular pornographic video sharing websites like Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube, and also adult film production companies like Brazzers and Reality Kings.
The 10th Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik reigned during a relatively calm period. His main goal was to defend the vast empire that he had inherited. He built countless castles and palaces in Syria. He is also believed to have reformed the agricultural taxation system of his kingdom.
Shukri al-Quwatli was not just the 8th president of Syria but also its first president post-independence. He was part of the National Bloc and also led the Syrian anti-colonialist movement. He was overthrown by a coup, imprisoned, and exiled. Re-elected later, he was merely a nominal head.
Syrian politician Salah al-Din al-Bitar, a noted theorist of Arab democratic nationalism, co-founded the Arab Ba'ath Party that espoused Baʿathism. al-Bitar served thrice as Prime Minister of Syria in Ba'athist governments, but later had differences with younger members of the party that grew more radical. He left Syria, lived in exile, however remained politically active till his assassination in 1980.
Expelled from law school due to illegal political activities, Syrian politician Khalid Bakdash later joined the Communist Party. He was jailed by the French but eventually emerged as the first Communist leader to be elected to an Arab parliament. He later had a tiff with fellow Communist leader Yusuf Faisal.
Umayyad governor of Iraq, Khalid al-Qasri began his career as the governor of Mecca. Later, as the governor of Iraq, he made efforts to develop the agricultural prosperity of his kingdom. He also built a church, his mother being a Christian. He was later jailed for embezzlement and eventually executed.
