Asma al-Assad

Asma Fawaz al-Assad (Arabic: أسماء فواز الأسد; née Akhras; born 11 August 1975) is a British-born Syrian economist who served as the first lady of Syria from 2000 to 2024 as the wife of Bashar al-Assad. She became first lady when she married al-Assad on 13 December 2000, shortly after he became president.

Asma Fawaz Akhras graduated from King's College London in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in computer science and French literature. She had a career in investment banking and was planning to begin an MBA at Harvard University when she married Bashar al-Assad in December 2000. She resigned from her job in investment banking following the wedding and remained in Syria, where their three children were born. As first lady, she played a major role in supporting government organisations involved with social and economic development as part of a reform initiative halted due to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.