The son of a member of the Ba'ath Party since 1950, Rustum Ghazaleh joined the Syrian Arab Army as a first lieutenant and platoon commander of a mechanized infantry unit in 1973, just in time for the Yom Kippur War but did not see frontline combat.
10 Facts About Rustum Ghazaleh
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Rustum Ghazaleh later trained in artillery and military intelligence in the Soviet Union in 1976.
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Rustum Ghazaleh was appointed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2002 to succeed the late Ghazi Kanaan as head of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon.
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Rustum Ghazaleh frequently traveled to the Bekaa valley where he had a residence and his headquarters in Anjar, and has been accused of involvement in the Bekaa drug trade and other smuggling ventures.
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In September 2005, Rustum Ghazaleh was questioned on the Hariri assassination by United Nations investigator Detlev Mehlis.
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However, at the beginning of the protests in Daraa, Rustum Ghazaleh was sent by Bashar al-Assad to assure locals of the president's good intentions.
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In May 2011, the European Union said Rustum Ghazaleh was head of military intelligence in Damascus countryside governorate, which borders Daraa governorate, and was involved in the repression of dissent in the region.
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On 24 July 2012, Rustum Ghazaleh was appointed chief of political security.
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Rustum Ghazaleh allegedly opposed to the prominent role played by Hezbollah and other foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war, a stance which led to him being attacked by the bodyguards of the pro-Iranian Lt.
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Saad Hariri stated that Rustum Ghazaleh had contacted him the day before he was beaten, wanting to appear on television to announce details regarding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, while an analyst claimed Rustum Ghazaleh had seen the end was near for the Syrian government and wanted to defect.