Damascus News Platform – News – Damascus
The media adviser to the Syrian Presidency, Dr. Ahmed Mowaffaq Zeidan, criticized statements contained in the memoirs of former Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, arguing that the memoirs reflected what he described as a “desperate” defense of the Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad, alongside repeated criticism of Gulf and Egyptian leaders, while expressing admiration and pride in Iran’s role.
In a post published on his social media accounts, Dr. Ahmed Mowaffaq Zeidan stated that anyone reading Farouk al-Sharaa’s memoirs would be “surprised, even astonished” by the extent of the defense of Hafez al-Assad. He added that al-Sharaa had “mocked and, at times, accused Gulf and Egyptian leaders—both appropriately and inappropriately—in ways that were unbecoming,” according to his wording.
Zeidan further noted that the memoirs, in contrast, contained repeated praise for Iran, describing this as “the behavior of blind allegiance.” He concluded his remarks by saying: “How patient they are in the face of the Fire… and their hearts have been filled with the calf.”
Farouk al-Sharaa is regarded as one of the most prominent political and diplomatic figures of the former Assad regime over the past decades, with his name closely associated with pivotal stages in Syrian politics and Arab and international relations.
Born in 1938 in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, al-Sharaa studied English literature at the University of Damascus before moving into economic and diplomatic work. He began his professional career with Syrian Airlines, where he held administrative and marketing positions before joining the diplomatic corps in the 1970s.
Al-Sharaa served as Syria’s ambassador to Italy before being appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. In 1984, during the rule of Hafez al-Assad, he became Foreign Minister, a position he held for nearly 22 years, making him one of the longest-serving foreign ministers in the Arab world.
During his tenure as foreign minister, al-Sharaa played a central role in numerous regional issues, most notably Syria’s relations with Lebanon, peace negotiations with Israel, and the management of Damascus’s relations with Arab states, Iran, and the United States.
In 2006, he was appointed Vice President under Bashar al-Assad and remained in office during the early years of the Syrian crisis after 2011, before gradually withdrawing from political and media appearances.
