Faisal Mekdad

Faisal Mekdad was born in the village of Ghasm in Daraa Governorate in 1954. He graduated in 1978 from Damascus University with a degree in English. He was awarded a PhD in English Literature from Charles University in Prague in 1993. While at Charles University, he was a part of the International Union of Students. He was also a member of the executive office of Revolutionary Youth Union. He was active in the Syrian student movement and student leadership at Damascus University, where he won first prize for his academic research on the history of the Asian student movement. ==Career==

After graduating from Charles University, Mekdad joined the Syrian Foreign Ministry. In 1994, Mekdad moved to work in the diplomatic corps at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as First Secretary in the Department of International Organizations and Conferences. In 1995, he was transferred to the Permanent Delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations, where he worked in various UN committees. In 1996, he was appointed Deputy to the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations under Mikhail Wehbe. Between 2023 and 2024, he participated in talks on Syrian–Turkish normalization. After 2023, he was also an integral part of the negotiations and meetings during the Syrian-Arab normalization and the restoration of Syria's full membership in the Arab League. He was appointed as vice president for foreign and information policies on 23 September 2024. On 10 October 2024, Mekdad was sworn in before Bashar al-Assad. Syrian civil war Mekdad denied accusations of an alleged crackdown on protesters after the start of the Syrian civil war. In interviews with Western and Arab Media outlets about the uprising, he spoke in support of Bashar al-Assad. Mekdad was part of the delegation representing the Syrian government at the Geneva II Conference on Syria. In January 2021, the European Union placed sanctions on Mekdad due to his involvement in the civil war. The United Kingdom followed two months later, stating that he "shares responsibility for the Syrian regime’s violent repression against the civilian population". After the regime's fall, Mekdad issued a statement on 8 December praising Syrian youth and calling for dialogue, while pointedly avoiding any mention of Assad or accountability. ==Personal life==

Faisal Mekdad is married and has one son and two daughters. ==References==