Riad Ismat

Mohammad Riad Hussain Ismat (Arabic: رياض عصمت) (11 July 1947 – 13 May 2020) was a Syrian writer, critic and theatre director. He was Minister of Culture from 3 October 2010 to 23 June 2012 during the Bashar al-Assad presidency. He later moved to Chicago where he taught at Columbia College. He was born in Damascus.

Ismat died on 13 May 2020 in Chicago from COVID-19, aged 72.