📰 Jamal al-Sharaa: The Brother Who Tested the Boundaries of Power

When syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria’s emerging leader Ahmad sharaa came to power last December, dismantling the decades-old Assad regime, he promised a clean break from the corruption, nepotism, and privilege that had defined syrian governance for half a century. Yet within months, that pledge would be tested—not by generals or ministers, but by a member of his own family. A Brother in the Shadows of Power Jamal Sharaa, the leader’s eldest brother, once moved comfortably through damascus’s elite business circles. as per multiple reports and sources cited by Reuters, Jamal opened an office in the Syrian capital soon after Ahmad’s rise to power, managing ventures in import and export, tourism, and logistics.

From that discreet base, he expanded his network, appearing at high-end venues and driving a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class with tinted windows and unregistered plates—a symbol, to numerous, of unchecked privilege. Notably, while his younger brothers Hazem and Maher took up senior posts in the transitional administration, Jamal’s growing visibility and reputation for flaunting wealth soon drew public attention and internal unease. Furthermore, critics accused him of exploiting his family name to secure commercial advantages—a charge that carried symbolic weight in a country still reeling from the collapse of a patronage system built by Assad’s cronies.

The Presidential Reprimand By August, the president had had enough. Ahmad Sharaa reportedly ordered Jamal’s office shut and instructed all administration agencies to cease dealings with him. Furthermore, the Ministry of Information verified the closure, clarifying that Jamal “was not authorised to operate as an investment or commercial entity” and “held no official position in the state. ” The statement stopped short of alleging criminal wrongdoing, but the message was unmistakable: no one, not even the president’s brother, would be shielded from scrutiny. as per a family relative quoted by Reuters, Ahmad convened a private family meeting shortly after the incident, warning his relatives against “using the family name for personal gain. ” It was a gesture aimed as much at the public as at his kin—an assertion that the emerging presidency would not repeat the dynastic indulgences of the past.

A Wider Crackdown on Privilege The episode unfolded against a broader campaign by Ahmad Sharaa to curb corruption among his own supporters. In late October, Reuters declared that the president had reprimanded over a hundred loyalists who arrived at a meeting in Idlib driving luxury SUVs. “I didn’t realise government salaries were so generous,” he joked, before ordering multiple authorities…