Syrian statesman, politician, and general who was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000, died before the Syrian presidential election, held on what date?
Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: حافظ الأسد‎ ‎ "Ḥāfiẓ al-ʾAsad ", ] ] ; 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman, politician, and general who was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000. He was also Prime Minister from 1970 to 1971, as well as Regional Secretary of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and Secretary General of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party from 1970 to 2000.
Diab al-Mashi Diab al-Mashi (1915 – 11 August 2009) (Arabic: دياب الماشي‎ ‎ ) was a member of the parliament of Syria, for the district of Manbij, Aleppo. He won his first term in the 1954 parliamentary elections, and has served continuously until his death. With 55 years of service, he is considered one of the longest-serving members of parliament ever.