Bassel to Sonny Corleone in the novel The Godfather. "There is no doubt the Assads, along with the Makhloufs who are tied to them in bonds of marriage and partnerships, were just as busy with crime and committing particularly cruel acts as they were with ruling over Syria." Personal life Bassel is said to have spoken French and Russian fluently. According to leaked United States diplomatic cables, he had a relationship with a Lebanese woman, Siham Asseily who later married Lebanese journalist and deputy Gebran Tueni. His older sister, Bushra, could not marry Assef Shawkat until his death, as he rejected that marriage. Death and burial On 21 January 1994, while he was driving his Mercedes at a high speed (author Paul Theroux reports Bassel was driving at through fog to Damascus International Airport for a flight to Frankfurt, Germany on his way to a ski vacation in the Alps in the early hours of the morning, Bassel collided with a barrier and, not wearing a seatbelt, died instantly. Hafez Makhlouf was with him and was hospitalized with injuries after the accident, and a chauffeur in the back seat was unhurt. Assad's body was taken to Al Assad University Hospital and then buried in Qardaha, where his father's body was also later buried. Legacy After his death, shops, schools and public offices in Syria closed, and the sale of alcohol was suspended in respect. He was elevated by the state into "the martyr of the country, the martyr of the nation and the symbol for its youth". A great number of squares and streets were named after him. The new international swimming complex, various hospitals, sporting clubs and a military academy were named after him. The international airport in Latakia was named after him, Bassel Al-Assad International Airport. His statue is found in several Syrian cities, and even after his death, he is often pictured on billboards with his father and brother. He also has an equestrian statue in Aleppo, and formerly in Chtaura, Lebanon. On 17 November 2020, a museum dedicated to him was inaugurated at the Latakia Sports City. Bassel Assad's death led to his lesser-known brother Bashar al-Assad, who was then undertaking postgraduate training in ophthalmology in London, assuming the mantle of president-in-waiting. Bashar became President following the death of his father, on 10 June 2000. Bassel Assad's posters and his name were also used to secure