Hashem Safieddine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hashem Safieddine
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هاشم صفي الدين
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Safieddine in 2020
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| Head of Hezbollah's Executive Council | |
| In office July 2001 – 3 October 2024 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1964 Deir Qanoun En Nahr, Lebanon |
| Died | c. 3 October 2024 (aged 59–60) Dahieh, Lebanon |
| Political party | Hezbollah |
| Spouse | Raeda Faqih |
| Relatives |
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Hashem Safieddine (1964 – c. 3 October 2024) was a Lebanese Shia cleric who served as the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council from 2001 until his assassination in 2024. A maternal cousin of Hassan Nasrallah, Safieddine was generally considered the "number two" in Hezbollah before Nasrallah's assassination on 27 September 2024.
On 3 October 2024, Safieddine was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. On 5 October, it was reported that Hezbollah had lost contact with Safieddine since the airstrike. On 8 October, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that Safieddine was likely "eliminated". The claim was later repeated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On 22 October, the IDF confirmed his death, stating that his body had been found. Hezbollah also acknowledged his death the next day.
Contents
Early life
Safieddine was born in 1964 in Deir Qanoun En Nahr, southern Lebanon, to a respected Shia family. His name is also rendered as Safi al-Din. He was a maternal first cousin of Hassan Nasrallah and the brother of Abdallah Safieddine.
Safieddine studied theology in Najaf, Iraq, and in Qom, Iran, together with Nasrallah, until he was recalled to Lebanon by Hassan Nasrallah in 1994, and had been groomed by Nasrallah as a successor ever since.
Career
In 1995, Safieddine was promoted to the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Assembly), the highest council in Hezbollah, after which he operated under Imad Mughniyeh, until the latter's assassination in 2008. He was also appointed head of the Jihad Council. The Executive Council, of which he was president, oversees Hezbollah's political, social, and educational activities.
Until Nasrallah's assassination on 27 September 2024, Safieddine was among the three major leaders of Hezbollah. The other two were Hassan Nasrallah and Naim Qassem. He was regarded as second only to Nasrallah.
In 2006, Safieddine was reportedly promoted by Iran as a possible successor to Hassan Nasrallah for the post of Secretary-General of Hezbollah.
Safieddine was one of six clerics who are members of the Shura Council of Hezbollah. He was the head of the executive council of the group, also known as Shura Tanfiziyah, to which he was elected in the general assembly meeting in July 2001. He was one of nine members of the deciding consultative council (Shura al-Qarar), which is the top body of the group.
In October 2008, Safieddine was elected to succeed Nasrallah as secretary general of Hezbollah in the general meeting. His appointment as heir apparent to Nasrallah was supported by Iranians. In 2009, Safieddine was again elected to the Shura Council. In November 2010, he was appointed Hezbollah's military commander of the Southern Lebanon region.
In May 2017, Safieddine was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of State. He was also designated as a terrorist by Saudi Arabia. In May 2018, Safieddine and nine other senior Hezbollah figures (including Nasrallah and Naim Qassem) were sanctioned by the U.S. and several of its Arab allies (including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain). In 2020, the U.S. sanctioned two Lebanon-based companies, Arch Consulting and Meamar Construction, which are both subordinate to the Executive Council of Hezbollah, receive guidance and direction from Safieddine and Sultan Khalifah As'ad, and are accused of concealing money transfers to the accounts of Hezbollah leadership, "while the Lebanese people suffer from inadequate services".
After Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah's headquarters in September 2024, Safieddine was seen as a leading candidate for his successor. He was recognized for his similarity to Nasrallah in both appearance and manner of speaking, and has strong ties with the Iranian regime and the Ayatollah. In the immediate aftermath of Nasrallah's death, the Saudi news outlets Al Arabiya and AlHadath reported that Safieddine had been officially designated as his successor, although Hezbollah denied this via Telegram.
Assassination
On the night of 3 October 2024, an Israeli Air Force strike targeted Safieddine at a location in Dahieh, a Beirut suburb that is a Hezbollah stronghold. The airstrike targeted an underground bunker at which Hezbollah intelligence chief Hussein Hazimah ("Mortada") was also believed to be located. Hezbollah said that they had lost contact with Saffiedine ever since and was missing. However, on 22 October, the IDF confirmed his killing along with Ali Hussein Hazima and other senior Hezbollah members. Hezbollah also confirmed his death the next day.
Personal life
Safieddine was married to Raeda Faqih. In June 2020, their eldest son, Reza, married Zeinab Soleimani, the youngest daughter of the Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani.
See also
In Spanish: Hashim Safi Al Din para niños
- Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
