Mohammad al-Shaar

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency

| name = Mohammad Sha'ar

| native_name = {{Lang|ar|{{Script/Arabic|محمد الشعار}}|rtl=yes}}

| image =

| caption =

| office = Vice President of the National Progressive Front

| president = Bashar al-Assad

| term_start = 26 November 2018

| term_end = 11 December 2024

| predecessor =

| successor =

| office1 = Minister of the Interior

| president1 = Bashar al-Assad

| primeminister1 = Adel Safar
Riyad Farid Hijab
Wael Nader al-Halqi
Imad Khamis

| term_start1 = 14 April 2011

| term_end1 = 26 November 2018

| predecessor1 = Said Mohammad Sammour

| successor1 = Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun

| office2 = Commander of the Syrian Military Police

| president2 = Bashar al-Assad

| term_start2 = ?

| term_end2 = 14 April 2011

| predecessor2 =

| successor2 = Abdulaziz al-Shalal

| party = Ba'ath Party

| otherparty = National Progressive Front

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1950}}

| birth_place = Al-Haffa, Latakia Governorate, Syria

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater =

| spouse =

| children = 5

| residence =

| rank = 30px Major General{{cite web|url=http://syriamoi.gov.sy/new/index.php?req=552&cat=23|title=الوزراء الذين تتالوا على الوزارة|publisher=Ministry of Interior|access-date=24 February 2013}}

| allegiance = {{Flag|Ba'athist Syria}}

| battles = Syrian Civil War

}}

Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar ({{langx|ar|محمد إبراهيم الشعار}}; born 1950) is a Syrian military officer who served as Minister of the Interior from 2011 to 2018. He also served as the vice president of the National Progressive Front.

Early life

Shaar was born into a Sunni family in the village of Hafa in Latakia Governorate in 1950.{{cite news|title=Considering a Palace Coup in Syria|url=http://www.lebanonwire.com/1207MLN/12070808STR.asp|access-date=22 September 2013|newspaper=Stratfor|date=8 July 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721063720/http://www.lebanonwire.com/1207MLN/12070808STR.asp|archive-date=21 July 2012}}

Career

Shaar joined the armed forces in 1971 and held a number of security positions, including chief of the military security in Tartous, the chief of the military security in Aleppo, and the commander and chief of the Syrian military police. He was the commander of the military police prior to being appointed minister of interior in April 2011,{{cite web|url=http://syriamoi.gov.sy/new/index.php?req=551&cat=13 |title=نبذة عن السيد وزير الداخلية |publisher=Ministry of Interior|access-date=24 February 2013}} replacing Said Mohammad Sammour.{{cite news|title=Architects of regime's brutal crackdown pay the ultimate price|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/architects-of-regimes-brutal-crackdown-pay-the-ultimate-price-7957144.html|access-date=24 February 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=19 July 2012|author=Kim Sengupta|author2=Richard Hall}}{{cite news|title=Syrian president reshuffles cabinet|url=http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7351617.html|access-date=8 March 2013|work=People's Daily|date=15 April 2011}}

Sanctions

On 9 May 2011, the European Union (EU) placed sanctions on Shaar along with 12 others.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13344345|title=EU sanctions target Syria elite in bid to end violence|newspaper=BBC|date=10 May 2011|access-date=22 May 2012}}{{cite news|last=Fahim|first=Kareem|title=Profiles of Syrian Officials Targeted in Damascus Blast|work=The New York Times|date=19 July 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/world/middleeast/profiles-of-syrian-officials-targeted-in-damascus-blast.html|access-date=8 March 2013}} The Official Journal of the European Union states the reason for sanctions against him as "involvement in violent treatment of demonstrators".{{cite web|title=List of persons and entities referred to in articles 3 and 4|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:164:0020:0021:EN:PDF|publisher=Official Journal of the European Union|access-date=20 July 2012|date=24 June 2011}} Swiss government also put him into sanction list in September 2011, citing the same reason given by the EU.{{cite web|title=Ordinance instituting measures against Syria|url=http://www.baselgovernance.org/fileadmin/docs/news/09.09.2011.Ordinance__amedment__Syria_ENG.draft.pdf|publisher=Federal Department of Economy|access-date=24 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002044324/http://www.baselgovernance.org/fileadmin/docs/news/09.09.2011.Ordinance__amedment__Syria_ENG.draft.pdf|archive-date=2 October 2013}}

Personal life

Shaar is married and has two sons and three daughters. He is a Sunni Muslim.{{cite web|url=http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/assads-slain-aides-had-many-people-who-would-want-them-dead/article4426713/?service=mobile|title=Assad's slain aides had many people who would want them dead|date=19 July 2012|access-date=22 May 2013|work=The Globe and Mail}}

Reports of death or injury

On 18 July 2012, there were conflicting reports on his fate, with CNN reporting that Syrian state run television confirmed that Shaar was killed following a bombing of a meeting of the Central Crisis Management Cell (CCMC) at the National Security headquarters in Damascus.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/18/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t1|title=Top Syrian officials killed in major blow to al-Assad's regime|publisher=CNN|date=18 July 2012|access-date=18 July 2012}} However, later state TV reported that he survived although wounded.{{cite news|last=Weiss|first=Michael|title=The End of the Political Solution|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/18/the_end_of_the_political_solution|access-date=21 July 2012|newspaper=Foreign Policy|date=18 July 2012}} Additional reports stated that he, along with the country's intelligence chief, was in stable condition.{{cite news|title=Assad's top three aides killed in blast|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Assads-top-three-aides-killed-in-blast/articleshow/15038142.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518001818/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-19/middle-east/32746336_1_assad-state-tv-suicide-blast|url-status=live|archive-date=18 May 2013|access-date=21 July 2012|date=19 July 2012|newspaper=The Times of India|agency=TNN}}

On 19 December 2012, reports surfaced that Shaar had been admitted to the American University in Beirut hospital in Lebanon a few days earlier, after sustaining unspecified injuries in a bombing. The attack took place in front of the ministry of interior in Damascus on 12 December, killing several and injuring more than 20. Shaar's injuries were not believed to be serious.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20787091#TWEET462217 Syrian minister Mohammad Shaar 'in Beirut hospital' (BBC)]

On 26 December 2012, Shaar was reported to have cut short his treatment in Beirut due to a belief that he might be arrested by Lebanese officials for his role in a massacre of hundreds of people in Tripoli in 1986 and that he may be subject to international arrest warrants. He then returned to Damascus.{{cite news|last=Mroue|first=Bassem|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/26/syrias-interior-minister-flees-from-beirut-hospita/|title=Syria's interior minister flees from Beirut hospital|work=The Washington Times|date=26 December 2012|access-date=24 February 2013}}

Surrender

Following the fall of the Assad regime, al-Shaar voluntarily surrendered himself to the new authorities on 4 February 2025.{{cite web |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2025/02/former-syrian-interior-minister-mohammad-al-shaar-surrenders-to-authorities/ |title=Former Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar surrenders to authorities |publisher=Enab Baladi |date=4 February 2025 }}