Hafez Assad - Born to a poor Alawite family in 1930, he rose in the ranks of the military to become commander of the Air Force. Lost the Golan Heights to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Seized control of country in 1970 coup. Ordered a massacre against Sunni Muslims during the Muslim Brotherhood uprising in Hama 1982, which killed an estimated 20,000 people.
