Ali Abdullah Ayyoub

Lieutenant General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub (Arabic: علي عبد الله أيوب, romanized: ʿAlī ʿAbd Allāh Ayyūb; born 28 April 1952)^[1] is a Syrian former military officer and politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Syria from 2020 to 2022, and was the Minister of Defense and was personally appointed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on 1 January 2018.^[2] Ayyoub has a long experience in commanding manoeuvre formations and is also recognized as a specialist in land warfare.

Lieutenant General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub
علي عبد الله أيوب‎
Ayyoub in 2020
Deputy Prime Minister of Syria
In office 30 August 2020 – 28 April 2022
President	Bashar al-Assad
Prime Minister	Hussein Arnous
Preceded by	Walid Muallem
Succeeded by	Position Abolished
17th Minister of Defense
In office 1 January 2018 – 28 April 2022
President	Bashar al-Assad
Prime Minister	Imad Khamis Hussein Arnous
Preceded by	Fahd Jassem al-Freij
Succeeded by	Ali Mahmoud Abbas
Chief of the General Staff of the Army and the Armed Forces
In office 18 July 2012 – 1 January 2018
President	Bashar al-Assad
Defense Minister	Fahd Jassem al-Freij
Preceded by	Fahd Jassem al-Freij
Succeeded by	Salim Harba
Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Army and the Armed Forces
In office September 2011 – 18 July 2012
Defense Minister	Dawoud Rajiha
Chief of Staff	Fahd Jassem al-Freij
Preceded by	Bassam Najm el-Din Antakiali
Member of the Central Committee of the Ba'ath Party
In office 4 May 2024 – 11 December 2024
Personal details
Born	(1952-04-28) 28 April 1952 (age 73) Latakia, Second Syrian Republic
Political party	Independent politician
Other political affiliations	Ba'ath Party
Military service
Allegiance	Ba'athist Syria
Branch/service	Syrian Army
Years of service	1972–2022
Rank	Lieutenant general
Unit	14th Engineering Battalion
Commands	Chief of Staff Deputy Chief of Staff 1st Corps 5th Armoured Division 112th Mechanized Brigade
Battles/wars	Yom Kippur War Islamist uprising in Syria Syrian Civil War Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) Damascus offensive (2013) 2014 Latakia offensive

Education

Military Education^[3]

• Bachelor in Military Sciences, Armoured Branch, Homs Military Academy (1971–1973)
• Appointed with the rank of Lieutenant under probation (1973)
• Company Commander Course
• Battalion Commander Course
• Command and Staff Course
• Higher Staff Course (War Course)

Functions and main responsibilities

• Former commander of different Armoured Brigades of Syrian Arab Army and Syrian Republican Guard
• Former commander of the 4th Armoured Division
• Former commander of the First Army Corps (regrouping the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 7th Divisions)
• Former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces between September 2011 until 18 July 2012
• Former Chief of Staff of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces between 18 July 2012 and 1 January 2018
• Former Minister of Defense between 1 January 2018 and 28 April 2022
• Former member of the Central Committee of the Ba'ath Party (4 May 2024 – 11 December 2024)^[4]

War crime charges

In October 2023, French prosecutors at the Judicial Court of Paris charged Ali Ayyoub and his predecessor Fahd Al-Freij for their culpability in a barrel bomb in southwestern Syrian city of Daraa that killed French-Syrian national Salah Abou Nabout at his home in 2017.^[5]