Hasan Turkumani حسن توركماني |
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Minister of Defense | |
In office 12 May 2004 – 3 June 2009 |
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Preceded by | Mustafa Tlass |
Succeeded by | Ali Habib Mahmud |
Chief of Staff of the Syrian Army | |
In office 2002–2004 |
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Preceded by | Ali Aslan |
Succeeded by | Ali Habib Mahmud |
Member of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch | |
In office 9 June 2005 – 18 July 2012 |
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Personal details | |
Born | 1 January 1935 Aleppo, French Mandate of Syria |
Died | 18 July 2012 (aged 77) Damascus, Syria |
Nationality | Syrian |
Political party | Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Military service | |
Rank | Lt. General |
Hasan Ali Turkmani (Arabic: حسن توركماني; 27 January 1935 – 18 July 2012) was a prominent Syrian military commander and Ba'ath Party member, who served as minister of defense from 2004 to 2009.
He and five other top Syrian government officials were killed on 18 July 2012 in Damascus during a bomb attack organized by militants of Islamist Liwa Al-Islam and Free Syrian Army. Dozens of civilians were injured.
Hasan Turkmani was born in Aleppo in 1935 into a Turkmen family. He attended different courses and a higher military education, including bachelor in military sciences :
Turkmani joined the Syrian Arab Army in 1955 as an infantry officer. He was one of the first officers to graduate on the new mechanized units of the BMP-1 and BTR-60 armoured vehicles. He completed a staff course for combined arms operations from East Germany in 1965, and a Command and Staff Course from Egypt in 1969. He commanded the 9th Mechanized Infantry Brigade which fought a crucial rearguard action around Damascus in 1973. He was promoted to the rank of major general in 1975. Turkmani also began to serve as a member of the central committee of the Baath Party beginning in 2000. He was the deputy chief of staff in the Syrian army until 2002. He was appointed chief of staff on 23 January 2002, replacing Ali Aslan. Since he is a Sunni Muslim, his appointment was considered as a move to restore a touch of sectarian diversity to Syria's military-intelligence establishment, which had been dominated by Alawite Muslims.
On 12 May 2004, he became defense minister, replacing Mustafa Tlass. On the other hand, Ali Habib Mahmoud succeeded Turkmani as chief of staff. In June 2006, Turkmani visited Tehran and signed a strategic alliance agreement with his Iranian counterpart Mustafa Mohammad Najjar to form a joint defense committee.