Who is Hashim Safi Al Din, the potential successor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah?

A maternal cousin of Hassan Nasrallah, Al Din is widely seen as the second-in-command

Hashim Safi Al Din, born in 1964 in Deir Qanoun En Nahr, southern Lebanon, is a prominent Lebanese Shia cleric and a senior official within Hezbollah. Hailing from a respected Shia family, Safi Al Din is a maternal cousin of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s former Secretary-General. He is widely considered to be the second-in-command within the organization. His brother, Abdallah Safi Al Din, serves as Hezbollah’s representative to Iran.

While Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem automatically takes over the Hezbollah leadership after Nasrallah's death, the Shura Council must meet to elect a new secretary-general.

Educated in the theological hubs of Najaf, Iraq, and Qum, Iran, Safi Al Din studied alongside Nasrallah before being called back to Lebanon in 1994. He quickly rose through Hezbollah's ranks, joining the Majlis Al Shura, the group’s highest decision-making body, in 1995. Soon after, he was appointed as the head of the Jihad Council, solidifying his influence over Hezbollah’s military and strategic operations.

Unlike Nasrallah, who lived in hiding for years, Safi Al Din has appeared openly at recent political and religious events.

As the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, Safi Al Din oversees the organization’s extensive political, social, and educational initiatives, making him a central figure in shaping Hezbollah’s non-military activities.

His position also places him among the top three leaders of Hezbollah, alongside Nasrallah and Naim Qassem. Safi Al Din has been considered a likely successor to Nasrallah, with speculation about this role intensifying since 2006, when Iran reportedly promoted him as a potential future leader of the organization.

Safi Al Din’s significance within Hezbollah extends beyond his political roles. He is one of the six clerics serving on the Shura Council, Hezbollah’s supreme advisory body, and was elected head of the Executive Council in 2001.

His influence also reaches Hezbollah’s military operations, having been appointed military commander of Southern Lebanon in 2010—a key region in Hezbollah’s long-standing conflict with Israel.

Internationally, Safi Al Din has been a focal point of scrutiny. In 2017, the U.S. Department of State designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, citing his deep involvement in Hezbollah’s operations and his role in planning attacks against Israeli and Western targets.

In addition to his political and military endeavors, Safi Al Din is connected to another prominent figure in Middle Eastern geopolitics.

In June 2020, his son, Sayyed Reza Hashim Safi Al Din, married Zeinab Soleimani, the daughter of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force, something which strengthened the familial ties between Hezbollah's leadership and IRGC.