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Bashar al-Assad is a would-be reformer who is now gearing up for a second term having refused to bow to international calls for reform. He came to power in July 2000 with the reputation of a modernist, but his efforts to implement change have fallen short.
One of Syria's biggest political hurdles has been a UN probe implicating the country in the murder of Rafiq Hariri, the Lebanese ex-premier, in 2005. This has increased isolation over US claims Damascus is backing the insurgency in Iraq and Middle East "terrorists".
Al-Assad - which means lion in Arabic - showed little interest in politics as a young man but the death of his father Hafez al-Assad in June 2000 propelled him to power.
When he took office, the 41 year-old ophthalmology major, promised to inject new freedoms and open up Syrian society.
But the reforms he began, known as the "Damascus Spring," proved short-lived, as members of the old guard stifled his initiative and steered him toward more orthodox, authoritarian policies.
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| Al-Assad is running in a no-contest referendum for a second seven-year term [AFP] |
With little room for manoeuvre, al-Assad soon began to speak of "economic reform before political reform", like in China.
In 2003, he said the opposition had "misunderstood" his references to democracy during a speech on investment.
Earlier this month, the United States condemned Syria for jailing several political activists as proof of what it called the country's "continued contempt for human rights".
On the economic front, with oil reserves running out, almost 10 per cent of Syrians live below the poverty line, according to a UN document.
Handling crisis
Al-Assad senior proved remarkably adept at handling domestic and international crisis during his 30 years in power but his son has yet to establish himself in a similar way.
Critics say al-Assad's inexperience has made it difficult for him to establish Syria's place in the new world order.
"Syria has become a dictatorship without a dictator," a European diplomat in Damascus said.
However, al-Assad has rejected comments by some observers that he is not really in charge of Syria, saying there is no logic in accusing him of being a dictator on one hand and lacking authority on the other.
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| Al-Assad has two sons and one daughter with his wife Asma [EPA] | "You cannot be a dictator and not in control. If you are a dictator you are in full control... I have my authority by the Syrian constitution," he told CNN last year.
Born on September 11, 1965, Assad is fluent in English and French, having studied at the Franco-Arab Al-Hurriyet School in Damascus before going on to medical school.
Ophthalmology in Tehran
Al-Assad chose to study ophthalmology in Tehran between 1988 and 1992, before going to London for further studies.
Al-Assad was forced to return to Damascus to embrace politics following the death of his older brother Bassel in a fatal car crash in 1994 who was initially groomed for the presidency.
Bashar went on to become a tank battalion commander in 1994, then lieutenant-colonel in 1997, before being promoted to colonel in January 1999.
He was elected to the top body of the Baath party at its first congress in June 2000, and parliament passed an amendment to the constitution, scrapping the minimum age limit of 40 to allow al-Assad to run for president.
He was elected president, officially with more than 97 per cent of the vote, and took office on July 11, 2000.
He has two sons and a daughter with his wife, Asma.
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