The Syrian presidency announced that Asma Al-Assad has been diagnosed with blood cancer. So who is Asma?
Asma Fawaz Al-Akhras was born in London, Britain, on August 11, 1975, and hails from the Syrian city of Homs. She married Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on December 18, 2000. She is the daughter of Syrian cardiologist Fawaz Al-Akhras and his wife, Syrian diplomat Sahar Al-Atari, who worked at the Syrian embassy in London. Asma was born and raised in London and studied at one of its schools, where her friends affectionately called her "Emma."
She received her bachelor's degree in Computer Science from King’s College, University of London, in 1996. She trained in banking in New York, starting with Deutsche Bank, then moving to JPMorgan Chase. She is fluent in Arabic, English, French, and Spanish.
In August 2018, it was announced that she had begun treatment for breast cancer, and on August 3, 2019, she announced that she was completely cured of breast cancer.
As First Lady, she has worked on launching programs to strengthen efforts and projects aimed at empowering youth. She is also involved in various social, cultural, and economic fields in Syria. She heads the Syrian Trust for Development and has sought, through her trips abroad with President Assad, to transfer experiences and practices from developed countries to be utilized in Syria. She also works on assisting people with disabilities.
