Hafez al-Assa (Arabic: حافظ الأسد Ḥāfiẓ al-Asad) (October 6, 1930 – June 10, 2000) was president of Syria, for three decades. Assad's rule stabilized and consolidated the power of the country's central government after decades of coups and counter-coups. He was succeeded by his son and current president Bashar al-Assad in 2000.