Faisal Mekdad

Faisal Mekdad (فيصل المقداد; born 5 February 1954) is a Syrian diplomat and politician who has been Foreign Minister of Syria since 2020. He served as Syria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2003 until 2006.

Life and education
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 later got his 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 the first prize for his intellectual research on the history of the Asian student movement that was organized at all levels of Syrian universities.

Career
After graduating from Charles University, Mekdad became a diplomat in the Syrian Foreign Ministry. In 1995, he became a member of the Permanent Syrian Delegation to the UN where he represented Syria in numerous conferences. In 1996, he was appointed as the Deputy to the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations, under Mikhail Wehbe.

In 2003, Mekdad became the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations, a position he held until 2006, when he was appointed as Deputy Foreign Minister. Holds the Order of Civil Merit from the Spanish King Juan Carlos.

On 22 November 2020, Mekdad became the Minister of Foreign Affairs, following the death of Walid Muallem.

Syrian civil war
Mekdad has denied accusations of his government's alleged crackdown on protesters after the start of the Syrian civil war. He has held interviews with Western and Arab Media outlets about the uprising, where he has spoken in support of Bashar al-Assad.

He has promoted the government's claim that his government is fighting armed terrorist insurgents, and when asked by a BBC reporter whether he believes his government is winning the war in 2013, he responded saying "We shall win it, we are winning it, yes." Mekdad was a part of the delegation representing the Syrian government during the Geneva II Conference on Syria. The other members with him were Bashar Jaafari, Omran al-Zoubi, Bouthaina Shaaban, Walid Muallem, and Luna Shabal.

In January 2021, the European Union added Mekdad to its sanction list, due to his role during the civil war. The United Kingdom followed two months later, saying he "shares responsibility for the Syrian regime’s violent repression against the civilian population".

Personal life
Faisal Mekdad is married and has one son and two daughters. Mekdad's father was kidnapped by gunmen on 18 May 2013 in his village of Ghasm. He speaks Arabic and English fluently and is familiar with Czech and German.

Foreign distinctions

 * Spain: Collar of the Order of Civil Merit