Maamun al-Kuzbari

Maamun al-Kuzbari (1914 – 2 March 1998)

After Shishakli was overthrown, Kuzbari in his position as Speaker, and according to the constitution, was declared acting President in an emergency session of parliament on 25 February 1954. He succeeded in avoiding military confrontation among the supporters and opponents of Shishakli within the Syrian army and called the former President Hashim al-Atassi, whose administration was interrupted by Shishakli's coup in 1949, to come back to Damascus in order to complete his term.

Kuzbari remained head of the ALM. He participated in the new elections and returned to parliament in October of that year. In February 1955 he was appointed minister of justice under Prime Minister

He represented Syria in the Non-Aligned Movement Conferences in Bandung on 1955 and in several other international conferences.

Exile and death

He was exiled after another coup on 8 March 1963 and settled for a short time in France before relocating to Morocco. He taught at Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech Universities. He taught and published several books in Syria and Morocco in the interpretation of civil law. He actively participated in propagation of the Arab language in the Moroccan universities and courts. His books are used as reference in the Moroccan courts.

In 1996, he moved to Lebanon at the end of the country's civil war. He died in Beirut on 2 March 1998 and was buried in Damascus.

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