Lieutenant General Abd al-Karim Zahr al-Din, a Syrian military leader (1919-2009), headed the Syrian Army General Staff after the secession of the union between Egypt and Syria.
Zahr al-Din was born in 1919 in the village of Al-Surah al-Kabira, the son of Sheikh Hussein Zahr al-Din, a member of the Representative Council of the State of Jabal al-Druze. He grew up and was educated in the city of As-Suwayda, where his father resided due to his official duties.
Army of the Levant
He joined the ranks of the Army of the Levant in 1937 and caught the attention of his superiors for his excellence, as he desired to become an officer, and he graduated from the Military Academy in 1942.
He began assuming leadership positions in infantry, armored, and tribal regiments until he became the director of the officers' training course. He took charge of the supplies department and was sent on a scholarship to France to study at the Higher Administration College in Paris.
General Staff
He was promoted until he reached the rank of Colonel, and during the union, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and he took over the Directorate of Administrative and Financial Affairs in the First Army, and was the administrative assistant to the army commander. He was then promoted to the rank of Major General until he was appointed Chief of Staff. After his retirement, he authored a book in which he explained his actions and positions.
