Political Career
Since Hafez Assad's death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad reshuffled his cabinet several times to remove several long-time members. Sharaa, however, remained in office, and became one of the longest-serving foreign ministers in the world. It was believed that Sharaa might be forced to resign when, in October 2005, he was accused of misleading the international investigators in letters about the investigation of possible Syrian involvement in the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. However, since 2009, the accusation of Sharaa seems to be false as the credibility of the UN Independent International Investigation Commission has become in doubt, specifically after the release of the four Lebanese high-ranking pro-Syrian officers who were previously accused of being involved in the assassination. Along with President Bashar al-Assad, Sharaa was interviewed in April 2006 in the course of a UN investigation into the death in February 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He finally did leave his post as foreign minister on 11 February 2006, when he became vice-president of Syria. This position had been vacant for months, since the departure of Abdul Halim Khaddam. Some saw his appointment as vice-president as a demotion, since he was expected to have less of a public role in Syrian politics and to lose contact with many diplomats and world leaders. The vice-president in Syria is generally a ceremonial role. However, others believed that Sharaa would now have a greater role in decision-making, since he would be in Syria more often. In the event, Sharaa engaged in high-profile foreign travel as Vice President, indicating that his role is envisaged as an active one on the international scene. Sharaa will also become the acting president of Syria if President Assad resigns or dies while Sharaa is still vice-president.
Sharaa met with Pope Benedict XVI in September 2007 to discuss the plight of Iraqi Christian refugees in Syria, the Mideast peace processes, and the role and status of the Church in Syria. Sharaa is Chairman of the “national dialogue” committee in Syria.
Read more about this topic: Farouk Al-Sharaa
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