Allegiance Syria Succeeded by Hassan Khallouf Name Mohammed Kheirbek | Nationality Syrian Political party Ba'ath Party Religion Alawite Service/branch Syrian Army | |
Prime Minister Riyad Farid HijabWael Nader al-Halqi Unit Military Intelligence Directorate | ||
Mohammed Nasif Kheirbek (Arabic: محمد ناصيف خيربك) known as Mohammed Nasif or Abu Wael, (10 April 1937 - 28 June 2015) was the deputy vice-president for security affairs in Syria. He was a close adviser of Syrian President Bashar Assad and is Syria's point-man for its relationship with Iran and Lebanon's Shia militias. He is one of a number of officials sanctioned by the European Union for the use of violence against protesters participating in the Syrian civil war.
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Background
Mohammed Nasif Kheirbek was born 10 April 1937 in Homs and is a member of the Alawi Kalabiya tribe, to which Bashar Assad belongs. The Kheirbek and Assad family are also connected by marriage. A relative is married to one of Rifaat Assad's daughters. Mohammed was the head of the powerful Kheirbek clan who are represented throughout the Ba'ath Party and the security apparatuses.
Career
Kheirbek was a very close adviser to the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. He was the military attache in East Germany between 1971 and 1975. In the 1990s he was a central figure in relations with Iran and Lebanese Shiite militias. In 1999, he was appointed as the deputy director of the General Security Directorate and then in 2005 became the deputy vice-president for security affairs. Two years later, the US froze his assets for contributing to the government of Syria's problematic behaviour, which included support of international terrorism, the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and the undermining of efforts in Iraq. He was also reported in 2007 to be in charge of Syria's Lebanon portfolio.
Syrian civil war
In May 2011, Kheirbek was sanctioned by the European Union for the use of violence against protesters participating in the Syrian civil war. The following month, he reportedly traveled to Iran to meet General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Qods Force, a division of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which conducts special operations outside Iran. They reportedly discussed creating a supply route that would allow Iran to transfer military equipment directly to Syria by way of a new military compound at Latakia airport.
Personal life
Kheirbek got married at an old age and had an only son called Wael.