Anisa Makhlouf

Anisa Makhlouf died in Damascus on 6 February 2016 from undisclosed causes.

In 2012, Makhlouf, as well as other members of the Al-Assad family, were sanctioned by the European Union amid the country's civil war and attacks on protesters by the Syrian government.

Following the death of Bassel al-Assad in 1994, Makhlouf favoured Maher al-Assad, her youngest son and a Syrian general, as a possible successor for her husband. Instead, Bashar al-Assad returned from London, joined the military, and succeeded his father as President of Syria in 2000.

She married Hafez al-Assad, an officer of the Syrian Arab Air Force, in 1957. They had five children: Bushra (b. 1960), Bassel al-Assad (1962–1994), Bashar al-Assad (b. 1965), Majd al-Assad (1966–2009), and Maher al-Assad (b. 1967). Her marriage to Hafez al-Assad elevated the status and wealth of the Makhlouf family. Her relatives were awarded lucrative contracts within the country's banking, oil and telecommunication sectors. One nephew, Rami Makhlouf, is believed to be the wealthiest man in Syria, with a net worth of US$5 billion, as of 2012.

Anisa (or Aniseh) Makhlouf (Arabic: أَنِيسَةُ مَخْلُوفٍ, romanized: ʾAnīsah Maḵlūf, 5 November 1930 – 6 February 2016) was the matriarch of the Syrian Al-Assad family, which has ruled the country since 1971. The wife of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Makhlouf held the position of First Lady of Syria from 1971 until 2000. Her son Bashar al-Assad has been the President of Syria since 2000.