Ali Mamlouk

Ali Mamlouk (علي مملوك) (born 19 February 1946) is a special security adviser to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and is one of his trusted men. Mamlouk is also head of the Ba'ath Party's National Security Bureau.

Early life
Ali Mamluk was born in Damascus into an Sunni family on 19 February 1946. There is another report giving his birth year as 1945. His family is originally from İskenderun (Hatay in Turkey).

Career
Mamlouk was one of the founders of the Syrian Aerial Intelligence, where he held significant roles, including deputy head. He was formally the head of the General Security Directorate. President Bashar Assad in June 2005 appointed Ali Mamlouk as commander of the General Security Directorate.

Mamlouk is said to be on good terms with all of Syria's intelligence agencies; the heads of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate and the Political Security Directorate were once his assistants. In July 2012 following the Damascus security HQ bombing, it was reported that Mamlouk would become the head of the National Security Bureau with the rank of minister overseeing the entire security apparatus, and that former military intelligence chief Abdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh would become his assistant.

Controversy
Mamlouk is one of many officials sanctioned by the European Union for their actions against protesters participating in the Syrian uprising. His agency had repressed internal dissent, monitored individual citizens, and had been involved in the Syrian government's actions in Deraa, where protesters were killed by Syrian security services. In addition, he was added to the European Union's sanction list on 9 May 2011 on the grounds that he "involved in violence against demonstrators" during the Syrian civil war. Swiss government also put him into sanction list in September 2011. On 23 April 2012, the US government imposed sanctions on him, saying he had been responsible for human rights abuses, including the use of violence against civilians.

On 11 August 2012, Lebanon indicted Ali Mamlouk in absentia and former Lebanese Information Minister Michel Samaha for their alleged plots to assassinate Lebanese political and religious figures. Lebanese judicial officials issued a warrant for Mamlouk's arrest on 4 February 2013.