Hashim Bay Khalid al-AtassiAtassi, also sspelled Atasi is the name of a prominent family in Hims, Syria dating back to the 16th century CE. Members of the family lead the national movement against the French mandate. The power and prestige of the family reached an apex at the formation of the modern Republic of Syria in...
(1875 December 5, 1960) was a Syrian nationalist, statesman and its President during 19361939, 19501951, and 1954.
Background and early career
He was born in Hims to the large , landowning and politically active
AtassiAtassi, also sspelled Atasi is the name of a prominent family in Hims, Syria dating back to the 16th century CE. Members of the family lead the national movement against the French mandate. The power and prestige of the family reached an apex at the formation of the modern Republic of Syria in...
family. He studied public administration at the Mülkiye Academy in
IstanbulIstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
, and graduated in 1895. He began his political career in 1888 in the Ottoman province of
BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which...
, and through the years up to 1918 served as Governor of Hims,
HamaHama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. The city is the location of the historical city Hamath...
,
BaalbekBaalbek is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, known as Heliopolis was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire...
,
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west...
, and
JaffaJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel on the Mediterranean Sea...
, which included the then-small suburb of
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
. In 1920, after the
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
defeat of the Turks, he was elected chairman of the
Syrian National CongressThe Syrian National Congress was convened in July 1919 in Damascus, Syria to prepare for the King-Crane Commission of inquiry on the future of Greater Syria after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The congress was attended by representative from all parts of Syria. The participants showed...
, the equivalent of a modern parliament. On March 8, 1920 that body declared independence as a constitutional monarchy, under
Faisal IFaisal bin al-Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi , was for a short time King of Greater Syria in 1920 and King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933...
. He became prime minister during this short-lived period, for French occupation soon followed under the terms of the
Sykes-Picot AgreementThe Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 was a secret agreement between the governments of the UK and France, with the assent of Imperial Russia, defining their respective spheres of influence and control in west Asia after the expected downfall of the Ottoman Empire during World War I...
and a
League of Nations MandateA League of Nations mandate refers to a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
(Also see:
San Remo conferenceThe San Remo Conference was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council, held in Sanremo, Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. It was attended by the four Principal Allied Powers of World War I who were represented by the Prime Ministers of Britain , France and Italy and...
). During his tenure, Atassi appointed the statesman
Abd al-Rahman ShahbandarAbd al-Rahman Shahbandar was a prominent Syrian nationalist during the French Mandate and a leading opponent of compromise with French authority. His devotion to Arab nationalism dated to the days of the Committee of Union and Progress and its "turkification" policies...
, one of the leaders of the Syrian nationalist movement against the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, as Foreign Minister. He delegated Shahbandar to formulate alliances between
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
and Europe, in a vain attempt to prevent the implementation of a
French MandateThe French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate created after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
. France moved quickly to reverse Syrian independence. The French High Commissioner
Henri GouraudHenri Joseph Eugène Gouraud was a French general, best known for his leadership of the French Fourth Army at the end of the World War I.-Early life:...
presented Faisal with an ultimatum, demanding the surrender of Aleppo to the French Army, the dismantling of the Syrian Army, the adaptation of the
French francThe franc was a former currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
in Syria, and the dissolution of the Atassi Government. Shahbandar’s efforts to compromise with Gouraud proved futile, and Atassi’s cabinet was dissolved on July 24, 1920, when the French defeated the Syrian Army at the
Battle of MaysalunThe Battle of Maysalun , also called The Battle of Maysalun Pass, took place between Syrian and French forces about 12 miles west of Damascus near the town of Maysalun on July 23, 1920.-Background:...
and imposed their mandate over Syria.
The French Mandate
After the dissolution of the Kingdom by the French, Atassi met with a group of notables in October 1927 and founded the National Bloc, which was to lead the Syrian nationalist movement in Syria for the next twenty years. The Bloc was a political coalition movement that sought full independence for Syria through diplomatic rather than violent resistance. It founders were a group of landowners, lawyers, civil servants, and Ottoman-trained professionals from
DamascusDamascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000...
,
AleppoAleppo is a city in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city and the capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population...
, Hims, Hama, and Lattakia. Atassi was elected permanent President of the National Bloc. In 1928, he was also elected President of the
Constituent AssemblyA constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
, and charged with laying out Syria's first republican constitution. The assembly was dissolved by the French high commissioner in May 1930 because of its adherence to the 1920 proclamation, and Atassi was imprisoned by the French for several months at Arwad Island. After being freed, he renominated himself for the presidency but lost the first round of elections and dropped out of the second, giving his endorsement to the independent Mohammad Ali al-Abid, who became president in the summer of 1932. In 1928 and 1932, he became a deputy for Hims in Parliament.
First President of the Republic
Atassi initially supported the Abid regime but became disenchanted from the new President when Abid appointed two French stooges, Haqqi al-Azm as Prime Minister and Subhi Barakat as Speaker of Parliament. In 1934, Abid negotiated a treaty with France that promised gradual independence from the mandate but kept the Syrian Mountains under French control. Atassi severely criticized the treaty, arguing that no independence was valid unless it encompassed all of Syria’s territory. He called for a 60-day strike to protest Abid’s proposed treaty. The Bloc mobilized massive street-wide support for Atassi’s call and most shops and enterprises closed down and riots raged daily, crippling the economy and embarrassing Abid before the international community. In defeat, the French government agreed to recognize the National Bloc leaders as the sole representatives of the Syrian people and invited Hashim al-Atassi for diplomatic talks in Paris. On March 22, 1936, he headed a senior Bloc delegation to France, and over a six-month period, managed to formulate a
Franco-Syrian treaty of independenceThe Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence was a treaty negotiated between France and Syria to provide for Syrian independence from French authority, which had been imposed under a League of Nations Mandate.- Explanation :...
. Atassi’s treaty guaranteed emancipation over a twenty-five year period, with full incorporation of previously autonomous territories into
greater SyriaGreater Syria , also known simply as Syria, is a term that denotes a region in the Near East bordering the Eastern Mediterranean Sea or the Levant....
. In return, Syria pledged to support France in times of war, offer the use of her air space, and the right for France to maintain military bases on Syrian territory. Other political, cultural, and economic attachments were made and Atassi returned to Syria in triumph on September 27, 1936. Hailed as a national hero, he was elected President of the Republic by a majority vote in November 1936, the first head of state of the modern state of Syria.
World War II
However, by the end of 1938 it became clear that the French government had no intention of ratifying the treaty, partly due to fears that if it relinquished its colonies in the Middle East, it would be outflanked in a war with
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
that was brewing in Europe. Atassi resigned on 7 July 1939 as the French continued to procrastinate about full Syrian independence and the withdrawal of French troops, and public discontent at the delay boiled over onto the streets. Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar returned to Syria at this time and agitated against Atassi and the National Block for failing to secure French ratification. Atassi's resignation was also influenced by the French decision to cede the Syrian province of Alexandretta (current day Iskenderun in
Hatay ProvinceHatay is a province of southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast, with Syria to the south and east and the Turkish provinces of Adana and Osmaniye to the north. The province was annexed from the Ottoman Empire by France after World War I. In 1938, the province declared independence from France...
) to Turkey, enraging Syrian nationalists. The ex-President retired to his native Hims and spent one year in seclusion, refusing to take part in political activity. Following his resignation, several years of instability and French military rule followed. The 40s overall were dominated by the politics and machinations of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and its aftermath. Syria was occupied by British and the
Free French ForcesThe Free French Forces were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation.-Definition:...
of General
Charles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II...
which did not leave until 1946. In an attempt at appeasing the Syrians, de Gaulle promised independence and visited Syria to elicit support for France. He visited Hashim al-Atassi in Hims and invited him to resume the presidency, assuring the veteran leader that France wanted to turn a new page in her relations with Syria. Atassi refused, however, claiming that his recent experience showed that France could not be trusted in her promises of independence. In 1943, rather than re-nominate himself, Atassi endorsed the election of
Shukri al-KuwatliShukri al-Quwatli was the president of Syria from 1943-1949 and 1955-1958.-Political life:...
, a well-established Damascus leader who had risen to prominence under Atassi’s patronage, as President of the Republic.
Atassi took no active part in the final struggle for independence but supported the Kuwatli regime, which lasted from 19431949. In 1947, while Syria was facing a prolonged cabinet crisis, President Kuwatli called on his old mentor to form a government of national unity. Due to a tense political atmosphere, however, and increasing anti-Kuwatli sentiment within political circles, Atassi was unable to intervene to save the administration. He also argued with President Kuwatli over presidential authority and conditioned that it would have to be curtailed if he became prime minister, but Kuwatli refused. In March 1949, the Kuwatli regime was overthrown in a
coups d'étatA coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...
by Chief of Staff
Husni al-Za'imHusni al-Za'im was a Syrian military man and politician. Husni al-Za'im, a member of Syria's Kurdish minority, had been an officer in the Ottoman Army. After France instituted its colonial mandate over Syria after the First World War, he became an officer in the French Army...
, who headed a military cabinet for four months before he himself was overthrown in August 1949. Following this development, leading politicians called on the aging Atassi to create a
provisional governmentA provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a previous administration or regime. The early provisional governments were created to prepared for the return of royal rule...
that would supervise national elections and the restoration of civilian rule. He complied and formed a cabinet that included representatives of all parties, including the leftist
Baath PartyThe Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was founded in Damascus in the 1940s by Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Bitar, both Syrian intellectuals, as the original secular Arab nationalist movement, to unify all Arab countries in one State and to combat Western colonial rule that dominated the Arab region at that...
of
Michel AflaqMichel Aflaq was the ideological founder of Ba’athism, a form of Arab nationalism which was combined with Arab socialism.-Life:...
, who he appointed Minister of Agriculture. Under Atassi's auspices, a new electoral law was adopted, and women voted for the first time in the election of November 1516, 1949. Atassi served as Prime Minister from August to December 1949, after which a parliamentary majority nominated him for a second term as president.
Second Presidential term
Atassi’s second term in office was even more turbulent than his first. He came into conflict with the politicians of Damascus for supporting the interests of the Aleppo notability and their desire to unite with
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
. He supported the People’s Party of Aleppo and appointed its leader Nazim al-Qudsi as Prime Minister. The party was vehemently pro-Iraq and sought a union with
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is coterminous. Having a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq and the second largest in the Arab World....
. One of the Atassi administration’s most memorable actions was the closure of Syria’s border with
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
to prevent the rampant influx of Lebanese goods into Syria. During the years 19491951, he undertook serious talks with the Iraqi government over the union issue. Atassi received senior Iraqi leaders in Damascus, including Crown Prince Abd al-Illah and
King Faisal IIFaisal II was the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq's last King. He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he was killed during the "14 July Revolution" together with several members of his family...
, for technical discussions on union. This angered Syria's emerging military strongman
Adib ShishakliAdib ibn Hasan Shishakli , born 1909, in Hamah, Syria, assassinated September 27, 1964 in Ceres, Brazil, was a Syrian military leader and President of Syria .- Background :...
who claimed that the
HashemiteHashemite is the Latinate version of the and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
family of Baghdad should have no jurisdiction whatsoever over Damascus. Shishakli demanded a change in course, yet Atassi remained adamant and refused to submit to military pressure. In response, Shishakli arrested Atassi’s Chief of Staff Sami al-Hinnawi, a People's Party sympathizer, and several pro-Iraqi officers in the Syrian Army. He then demanded that one of his right-hand-men, Colonel Fawzi Selu, be appointed Minister of Defense, to ensure that pro-Iraqi influence in Syria remained under control. Fearing a head-on-clash with the military, Atassi reluctantly accepted the demands. In December 1951, however, President Atassi asked
Maarouf al-DawalibiMaarouf al-Dawalibi , is a Syrian politician and a two time prime minister of Syria. He was born in Aleppo, and held a Ph.D. in Law. He served as a minister of economy between 1949-1950, and was elected speaker of the parliament in 1951. He also served as minister of defense in 1954.-References:...
, another member of the People’s Party, to form a cabinet. Dawalibi accepted the job but refused to give the Defense portfolio to Fawzi Selu. As a result, Shishakli launched another coup d’etat, arresting the Prime Minister and all members of the People’s Party. All ministers and pro-Hashemite statesmen were also abducted and Parliament was dissolved. In protest, President Atassi presented his resignation to the disbanded Parliament, refusing to submit it to Shishakli, on December 24, 1951.
Opposition to military rule
During the Shishakli years (19511954), Atassi spearheaded the opposition, claiming that the Shishakli regime was unconstitutional. He rallied the support of disgruntled officers, pro-Hashemite politicians, and members of all outlawed political parties, and called for a national uprising. In February 1954, Shishakli responded by arresting his son Adnan and placing the veteran statesman under house arrest. Such was Atassi's stature in Syria as its elder statesman, that Shishakli dared not subject him to the indignity of outright imprisonment. The officers mutinied, political leaders mobilized against the regime, and an armed uprising broke out in the Arab Mountain. On February 24, 1954, the regime of Adib al-Shishakli was finally overthrown. Six days later, on March 1, Atassi returned to Damascus from his siege in Hims and reassumed his duties as President. He restored the cabinet of Ma’ruf al-Dawalibi, who had been in-office before Shishakli’s coup in 1951, and restored all pre-Shishakli ambassadors, ministers, and parliamentarians to office. He tried to eradicate all traces of the four-year Shishakli dictatorship.
Final years
In what remained of his term, the 80-year old President tried to curb the influence of military officers and worked relentlessly against the leftist current that was brewing in Syria, characterized by
socialistSocialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on...
ideology, pro-
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
sympathies, and blind adherence to the policies of the socialist leader of Egypt,
Gamal Abdel NasserGamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970. He led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which removed King Farouk I and heralded a new period of industrialization in Egypt, together with a profound advancement of Arab nationalism, including a short-lived...
who were supported by members of the president's own powerful clan, such as
Jamal al-AtassiJamal Al-Atassi was a Syrian nationalist, politician and author. He was one of the earliest ideologues of the nascent Syrian Baath Party, which he joined soon after it was founded...
and
Nureddin al-AtassiNoureddin Mustafa al-Atassi was President of Syria from February 1966 to November 1970...
. Atassi defied President Nasser and worked in vain to keep Syria out of his socialist orbit. Unlike most Arab leaders, Atassi believed that Nasser was too young, inexperienced and ideological to lead the Arab world. The Syrian President cracked down on Nasserite elements and clashed with his own pro-Nasser Prime Minister Sabri al-Asali, accusing him of wanting to transform Syria into an Egyptian
satelliteA satellite state is a political term that refers to a country which is formally independent, but under heavy influence or control by another country...
. In 1955, the President was tempted to accept the Baghdad Pact, an Anglo-American agreement aimed at containing Communism in the region, but Nasserite elements in the Syrian Army prevented him from doing so. He rallied in support of Hashemite Iraq, whose leaders were competing with Nasser over pan-Arab leadership, and was allied to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Sa’id. Atassi then dissolved the cabinet of Asali and appointed Faris al-Khoury, a moderate statesman, as Prime Minister. Atassi dispatched Khury to Egypt to present Syrian objections to Egyptian hegemony over Arab affairs.
Legacy
President Hashim al-Atassi ended his term in September 1955 and retired from political life, elderly and infirm. In 1956, his son Adnan was implicated in an Iraqi-linked conspiracy that attempted to topple the pro-Nasser regime of President Shukri al-Kuwatli. Adnan was brought to court and sentenced to death on the charge of treason. Out of respect for his father, however, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. It was believed that the officers who administered the military tribunal were especially harsh with the son out of vengeance for the father, for attempting to curb military authority during his second and third terms (19491951 and 19541955). The former President, however, refused to visit his son in prison, as a mark of resentment against the militarization of Syria. He died in Hims during the union years with
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
on December 6, 1960. His funeral was the largest in the history of the city, attended by senior members of the
United Arab RepublicThe United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a union between Egypt, and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961 when Syria seceded from the union...
(UAR) regime of President Nasser.
Two members of his family,
Luai al-AtassiLuai al-Atassi was a Syrian military leader and Head of State . He was born in Homs to a politically prominent family, and studied at the Military Academy in that city. He fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and rose to become chief of Military Protocol under his kinsman, President Hashim...
and
Nureddin al-AtassiNoureddin Mustafa al-Atassi was President of Syria from February 1966 to November 1970...
, went on to serve as heads of state in the 1960s. Amid the confusion and violence that often formed the background of Syrian republican history, he stood out as a man of sound principles dedicated to constitutional methods of government. He is respected by all players in Syrian politics and is one of the few politicians of the pre-Baath era who was not criticized by the Baathists when they came to power in 1963. Atassi's biography was published in Syria in 2005 by his grandson. He did not leave behind any daily memoirs.