# Ali Duba

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Syrian Military and Intelligence Officer (1933–2023)

Lieutenant General Ali Duba علي دوبا‎ Ali Duba in 1970s Director of Military Intelligence Directorate In office 1973–2000 President Hafez al-Assad Preceded by Hikmat al-Shihabi Succeeded by Hassan Khalil Personal details Born Ali Issa Ibrahim Douba 1933 (1933) Qurfays, Jableh District, Latakia Governorate, Syria Died 21 June 2023 (aged 89) Latakia, Syria Party Ba'ath Party Military service Allegiance Second Syrian Republic (1955–1958) United Arab Republic (1958–1961) Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963) Ba'athist Syria (1963–2000) Years of service 1955–2000 Rank Lieutenant General Unit Military Intelligence Battles/wars Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Lebanese civil war Islamist uprising in Syria

**Ali Issa Ibrahim Duba** ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): علي عيسى ابراهيم دوبا, 1933 – 21 June 2023), better known as **Ali Douba**, was a Syrian military officer who was the head of the [Military Intelligence Directorate](/source/Military_Intelligence_Directorate_(Syria)) under [Hafez al-Assad](/source/Hafez_al-Assad) as well as his close adviser. Under Douba’s leadership, the Military Intelligence Directorate was the most important security agency in Syria, responsible for maintaining security within the army and safeguarding the regime.[1]

## Early life

Duba was born to a small landowning family from the [Alawite](/source/Alawite) tribe of Matawira, in the village of [Qurfays](/source/Qurfays) in the [Jableh District](/source/Jableh_District) south of [Latakia](/source/Latakia). He joined the [Ba'ath Party](/source/Ba'ath_Party) in the early 1950s while studying at the Holy Land Secondary School in Latakia.[2]

## Career

Duba joined the [Syrian Army](/source/Syrian_Army) in 1955 and became the deputy head of internal security at the [Damascus](/source/Damascus) branch of the [General Intelligence Directorate](/source/General_Intelligence_Directorate_(Syria)) five years later. He served as [military attaché](/source/Military_attach%C3%A9) at the Syrian embassy in Great Britain between 1964 and 1966, and in Bulgaria between 1967 and 1968.

Douba took part in suppressing the [Muslim Brotherhood](/source/Muslim_Brotherhood_in_Syria) [revolt in Hama](/source/1982_Hama_massacre) during February 1982.

In 1999 he was pushed aside by [Bashar al-Assad](/source/Bashar_al-Assad) over fears that he could be a rival for the presidency, and was made to retire in February 2000.[3]

He lived in [Latakia](/source/Latakia) until his death on 21 June 2023.[4] EU [Council Regulation](/source/Council_Regulation) 36/2012 placed him on a list of persons whose funds were frozen.[5] His last public appearance occurred in May 2021 when he cast a vote for Bashar al-Assad in the [2021 Syrian presidential election](/source/2021_Syrian_presidential_election).[6]

## Death

Duba died on 21 June 2023 in a military hospital in [Latakia](/source/Latakia) at the age of 89.[7][6]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Zisser_1-0)** Zisser, Eyal (September 1995). ["The Succession Struggle in Damascus"](http://www.meforum.org/264/the-succession-struggle-in-damascus). *[The Middle East Quarterly](/source/The_Middle_East_Quarterly)*. **2**: 57–64.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Batatup338_2-0)** [Batatu, Hanna](/source/Hanna_Batatu) (1999). [*Syria's peasantry, the descendants of its lesser rural notables, and their politics*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Mbr-ZfU_uCoC&pg=PA240) (Illustrated ed.). Princeton University Press. p. 240. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-691-00254-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-691-00254-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Faure_3-0)** Faure, Claude (2002). *Dictionary of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Culture, History, and Politics*. Macmillan Reference USA. p. 109. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-02-865977-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-02-865977-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Council_4-0)** Pan, Esther (10 March 2006). ["Syria's Leaders"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121028142012/http://www.cfr.org/syria/syrias-leaders/p9085). [Council on Foreign Relations](/source/Council_on_Foreign_Relations). Archived from [the original](http://www.cfr.org/syria/syrias-leaders/p9085) on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Council regulations](http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:016:0001:0032:EN:PDF). *Official Journal of the European Union*

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_6-1) ["Syria: Feared former intelligence chief Ali Duba dies age 89"](https://www.newarab.com/news/syria-feared-former-intelligence-chief-ali-duba-dies-age-89). *www.newarab.com*. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** The New Arab Staff (21 June 2023). ["Syria: Feared former intelligence chief Ali Duba dies age 89"](https://www.newarab.com/news/syria-feared-former-intelligence-chief-ali-duba-dies-age-89). *newarab.com*. Retrieved 15 December 2023.

v t e Heads of the Military Intelligence Directorate of Ba'athist Syria Ahmed Suwaydani Ali Zaza Hikmat al-Shihabi Ali Duba Hassan Khalil Assef Shawkat Abdul Fattah Qudsiyeh Rafiq Shahadah Mohamed Mahala Kifah Moulhem Kamal Hassan

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