Abdul Halim Khaddam عبدالحليم خدام |
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Khaddam in 1975
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Vice President of Syria | |
In office March 1984 – 6 June 2005 |
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President |
Hafez al-Assad Bashar al-Assad |
President of Syria Interim |
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In office 10 June 2000 – 17 July 2000 |
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Preceded by | Hafez al-Assad |
Succeeded by | Bashar al-Assad |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 1970–1984 |
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Preceded by | Mustapha al-Said |
Succeeded by | Farouk al-Sharaa |
Member of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch | |
In office 13 November 1970 – 9 June 2005 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Baniyas, Syria |
15 September 1932
Political party |
Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (until 2006) National Salvation Front in Syria (2006 onwords) |
Religion | Islam |
Abdul Halim Khaddam ( pronunciation AHB-dl hah-LEEM kah-DAM (Arabic: عبد الحليم خدام; born 15 September 1932) is a Syrian politician who was Vice President of Syria from 1984 to 2005. He was one of the few Sunni Muslims to make it to the top of the Alawite-dominated Syrian leadership. He was long known as a loyalist of Hafez Assad, and held a strong position within the Syrian government until he resigned his positions and fled the country in 2005 in protest against certain policies of Hafez's son and successor, Bashar Assad.
Abdul Halim Khaddam was born on 15 September 1932 in Baniyas, Syria. His family was Sunni Muslim with a middle-class origin, and his father was a respected lawyer. Khaddam obtained his elementary and secondary education in Baniyas and then studied law at Damascus University.