Abd al-Wahhab Hawmad

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
ʻAbd al-Wahhāb Ḥawmad
عَبْد الْوَهَّاب حَوْمَد
Abd al-Hamid Sarraj
Personal details
Born1915
Syria
DiedFebruary 2002 (aged 86–87)
Syria
Political partyPeople's Party (1947–1958)
National Union (1958–1961)
United Arab Front (1962–1963)

Abd al-Wahhab Hawmad (

criminologist and professor.[1]

Background

Hawmad was born to father Mahmoud Hawmad in

University of Damascus.[1]

Political career

People's Party

He became a founding member of the

Hashim al-Atasi subsequently rewarded Hawmad with the Syrian Republic Medal of Honor for Excellence, in recognition of his efforts.[2]

After leaving Parliament, he was appointed education minister in Prime Minister

Adib al-Shishakli, who came to power through military coup, had Hawmad arrested for his party's views, as part of a larger campaign to stem domestic dissent in the country. When Shishakli fled the country in February 1954, Hawmad was released.[4]

Between September 1955 and June 1956, Hawmad served as

finance minister in Prime Minister Said al-Ghazzi's cabinet, while in Prime Minister Sabri al-Asali's cabinet, between June and December 1956, he served as education minister.[2] Along with Ma'rouf al-Dawalibi, Faydi al-Atasi and Ahmad Qanbar, Hawmad advocated that the nominally pro-Western party adopt neutralism in the Cold War, so as not to jeopardize Syrian relations with the Soviet Union. Together, they succeeded in preventing the ruling People's Party from aligning with the pro-Western camp.[5]

Nasserism

In the late 1950s, Hawmad became a devoted

Nasserist, a supporter of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's pan-Arab leadership. This was a shift from his previous support for the Hashemites, Nasser's main Arab rivals at the time. He supported the union of Syria and Egypt into the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958,[4] and became the only member of the People's Party (all parties were dissolved following the union's establishment) to serve in the UAR's Northern Region (Syrian) cabinet.[6] On 16 August he was appointed Minister of State for Planning and was based in Cairo.[7]

He returned to Damascus on 23 October 1961 following the UAR's dissolution.[8] His former part colleague Nazim al-Qudsi became president following the Syrian coup that terminated the UAR. Hawmad did not rejoin the People's Party and opposed the secessionist government, openly calling for the UAR's reestablishment.[4] Together with Nahid al-Qasim, a former colleague associated with the People's Party who also served in the UAR government, he founded the United Arab Front, one of a number of Nasserist parties that emerged after the secession.[9] In 1962, unidentified assassins led an unsuccessful attempt to kill Hawmad by rigging his automobile with explosives.[4]

On 8 March 1963, a coalition of

Military Committee—the secretive junta that virtually controlled Syria—purged dozens of Nasserists from the officer corps in April and May, Hawmad and four other Nasserist ministers resigned from their posts.[10]

Later life and death

After his resignation, Hawmad remained in Syria, continuing his law practice as well as his professorship at the University of Damascus. He was elected to the Arabic Language Assemblage, which is the "highest international scientific authority in the field of Arab language and literature", according to Sami Moubayed, in 1991. He oversaw academic research from Syria and was an active member of the organization until he died in February 2002.[4]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abd al-Wahhab Hawmad.
  1. ^ a b c d Simon, Mattar, Bulliet, 1996, p. 787.
  2. ^ a b c d e Moubayed, 2006, p. 251.
  3. ^ Rabinovich, 1972, p. 236.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Moubayed, 2006, p. 252.
  5. ^ Ginat, 2010, p. 60.
  6. ^ Podeh, 1999, p. 52.
  7. ^ Oron, 1961, p. 595.
  8. ^ Oron, 1961, p. 163.
  9. ^ Rabinovich, 1972, p. 60.
  10. ^ Mufti, 1996, p. 153.

Bibliography

  • Ginat, Rami (2010), Syria and the Doctrine of Arab Neutralism: From Independence to Dependence, Sussex Academic Press,
    ISBN 9781845193966
  • Mufti, Malik (1996), Sovereign Creations: Pan-Arabism and Political Order in Syria and Iraq, Cornell University Press,
    ISBN 0801431689
  • ISBN 1-885942-41-9
  • Podeh, Elie (1999), The Decline of Arab Unity: The Rise and Fall of the United Arabic Republic,
    ISBN 1-902210-20-4
  • Rabinovich, Itamar (1972), Syria Under the Baʻth, 1963-66: The Army Party Symbiosis, Transaction Publishers
  • Simon, Reeva S.; Mattar, Phillip; Bulliet, Richard W. (1996), The encyclopedia of the modern Middle East, vol. 1, A–C, Macmillan Publishing Company, Incorporated,
    ISBN 9780028970615
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abd_al-Wahhab_Hawmad&oldid=1208889376"