Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem dies at 79

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Walid Muallem died at dawn on Monday at age 79, according to official Syrian sources.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates mourns Walid Muallem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates,” the official Syrian TV channel announced on its website early on Monday.

His body will be buried in Damascus’ al-Mazza cemetery, the official government agency SANA reported.

The politician was born in Damascus in 1941, and has three sons. Muallem graduated from the Department of Economy and Political Sciences at Cairo University in 1963. 

In 1964, Muallem joined the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked in diplomatic missions in Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and England. He became a Syrian ambassador to the US from 1990 to 1999 before becoming Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2000.

He became Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006, and served as Deputy Prime Minister in 2012 until his death on November 16.