Hafez al-Assad (6 October 1930 - 10 June 2000) was the President of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule was praised for consolidating the power of the central government after decades of coups and counter-coups. He also drew criticism for repressing his own people; in particular for ordering the Hama massacre of 1982; which has been described as "the single deadliest act by any Arab government against its own people in the modern Middle East". Human Rights groups have detailed thousands of extra-judicial executions he committed against opponents of his regime.