Anisa Makhlouf (Arabic: أَنِيسَةُ مَخْلُوفٍ, romanized: ʾAnīsah Maḵlūf; 5 November 1930 – 6 February 2016)[1] was the matriarch of the Syrian Al-Assad family, which ruled the country from 1971 to December 2024.

According to the Tlass family, Hafez was never particularly fond of the staid and withdrawn Anisa, and had seriously considered divorcing her, or having a second wife to entertain world leaders.

[3] A highly influential member of the government, she was one of the few people with whom Bashar al-Assad regularly consulted during the Syrian Civil War.

[3] In 2012, Makhlouf, as well as other members of the Al-Assad family, were sanctioned by the European Union amid the country's civil war and attacks on protesters by the Syrian government.

[2] Prior to the travel ban, she had reportedly made frequent trips to Germany for medical treatments for an undisclosed illness.