Hashim al-Atassi
Hashim al-Atassi | |
---|---|
هاشم الأتاسي | |
Speaker of the Syrian National Congress | |
In office 11 December 1919 – 17 July 1920 | |
Preceded by | office established |
Succeeded by | Badi' Muwayyad |
Personal details | |
Born | Syria Vilayet, Ottoman Empire | 11 January 1875
Died | 5 December 1960 Homs, Syria, United Arab Republic | (aged 85)
Political party | National Bloc (1928–1947) People's Party (1948–1960) |
Parent | Khaled al-Atassi |
Hashim al-Atassi (
Background and early career
He was born in
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
First President of the Republic
Atassi initially supported the Abid government but became disenchanted from the new President when Abid appointed two French stooges,
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 22 March 1936, he headed a senior Bloc delegation to France, and, over 6 months, managed to formulate a
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 27 September 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 Germany 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
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 Homs 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 its promises of independence. In 1943, rather than re-nominate himself, Atassi endorsed the election of Shukri al-Quwatli, 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 Quwatli government, which lasted from 1943 to 1949. In 1947, while Syria was facing a prolonged cabinet crisis, President Quwatli called on his old mentor to form a government of national unity. Due to a tense political atmosphere, however, and increasing anti-Quwatli sentiment within political circles, Atassi was unable to intervene to save the administration. He also argued with President Quwatli over presidential authority and conditioned that it would have to be curtailed if he became prime minister, but Quwatli refused.
In March 1949, the Quwatli government was overthrown in a
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 nobility and their desire to unite with Iraq. 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 Baghdad. One of the Atassi administration's most memorable actions was the closure of Syria's border with Lebanon to prevent the rampant influx of Lebanese goods into Syria. From 1949 to 1951, 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
Fearing a head-on-clash with the military, Atassi reluctantly accepted the demands. In December 1951, however, President Atassi asked Maarouf al-Dawalibi, 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, 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 24 December 1951.
Opposition to military rule
During the Shishakli years (1951 to 1954), Atassi spearheaded the opposition, claiming that the Shishakli government 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 government, and an armed uprising broke out in the Arab Mountain. On 24 February 1954, the government of Adib al-Shishakli was finally overthrown. Four days later, on 28 February, Atassi returned to Damascus from his home in Homs and reassumed his duties as President. He appointed
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 socialist ideology, sympathies for the Soviet Union, and blind adherence to the policies of the socialist leader of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser who were supported by members of the president's own powerful clan, such as Jamal al-Atassi and Nureddin al-Atassi. 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
Legacy
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2014) |
President Hashim al-Atassi retired from political life in September 1955, elderly and infirm. In 1956, his son Adnan was allegedly implicated in an Iraqi-linked conspiracy that attempted to topple Quwatli's pro-Nasser government. Adnan believed that this was better for Syria and he did it out of love for his country. 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 imprisonment in a political prison among other prominent politicians. Adnan stayed imprisoned from 1957 to 1960 when he was released.
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 (1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1955).[citation needed] The former President, however, refused to visit his son in prison, as a mark of resentment against the militarization of Syria.[citation needed] He died in Homs during the union years with Egypt on 6 December 1960. He was given a state funeral, which was the largest in the history of the city, attended by senior members of the United Arab Republic (UAR) government of President Nasser.
Two distant members of his family (Lu'ay al-Atassi and Nureddin al-Atassi) went on to serve as heads of state in the 1960s, albeit obeying a very different political stance, including a strong pro-Soviet orientation.
Amid the confusion and violence that often formed the background of Syrian republican history, Hashim 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.
References
- ISBN 978-0313281129. Archived from the originalon 10 October 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ProQuest 303968458.
- ISBN 978-0-19-506022-5.
- ^ a b McGowan, Afaf Sabeh (1988), "History", in Collelo, Thomas (ed.), Syria : a country study, Washington, D.C: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, pp. 18–20, archived from the original on 29 June 2011, retrieved 22 February 2012
- Sami Moubayed "Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000" (Cune Press, Seattle, 2005).
- Encyclopædia Britannica