Jihad Makdissi

Who is Jihad Makdissi?

Jihad Makdissi was the Foreign Ministry spokesman of the Syrian government from 1998 to 2012. He is a member of Syria's Christian minority and one of the few members of Assad's government fluent in English and French.

Makdissi graduated from Al-Nour high school in Damascus and studied in Paris at the ENA. He received his Master's degree in Diplomacy and International Relations in 2009 from the University of Westminster and his doctorate from American University of London in Media Studies in 2011. Prior to becoming official spokesman, he had worked for several years in Syria's London embassy.

On 2 December 2012 it was rumoured that he had been sacked from his position and left for the United Kingdom. Subsequently, additional rumours circulated stating that Makdissi had not been sacked but had instead defected. Makdissi was reported to be on sanctioned leave by Al Arabiya News, while Al-Manar TV reported that he was fired for straying from the official positions of the Syrian Government. In late December 2012, it was reported that Makdissi had fled to the United States.

On 30 January 2013, it was reported on Asharq Al-Awsat that he had not defected to the United States or Britain, as had previously been reported, but rather travelled to visit his family in Lebanon and from there defected to one of the Gulf states, where he had arranged for residency for himself and his wife and children.