Riad al-Asaad

Riad Mousa al-As'aad (born 2 February 1961) is a Syrian military officer and politician who is the founding leader of the Free Syrian Army. One of the prominent faces of the Syrian civil war, he led armed resistance to the Assad regime as commander-in-chief of the FSA, during the early phase of the Syrian Civil War. Under Riad al-Asaad's command, the FSA expanded into a paramilitary force of 75,000 guerilla fighters and insurgents in March 2012; capable of ousting regime forces from Damascus. He served as deputy prime minister for Military Affairs of the Syrian Salvation Government, a position he has held from 2 November 2017 to 2024. He was a former colonel in the Syrian Air Force who defected to the opposition in July 2011 and became the first Acting Commander-in-chief of the Free Syrian Army.