Sami Droubi
Sami Droubi | |
---|---|
Salah al-Din Bitar | |
Preceded by | Rashad Barmada |
Succeeded by | Shibli al-Aysami |
Ambassador to Brazil | |
In office 1960 – September 1961 | |
Ambassador to Morocco | |
In office September 1963 – December 1964 | |
Ambassador to Yugoslavia | |
In office December 1964 – February 1966 | |
Ambassador to Egypt | |
In office April 1966 – November 1970 | |
Ambassador to Spain | |
In office November 1971 – October 1973 | |
Ambassador to the Holy See | |
In office October 1973 – October 1975 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1921 French Mandate of Syria |
Died | 12 February 1976 (aged 54–55) Syria |
Alma mater | University of Paris |
Sami Droubi (surname also spelled al-Durubi or al-Drubi; 1921 – 12 February 1976) was a Syrian politician, career diplomat, writer, translator, university professor and philosopher. He worked as a Syrian diplomat throughout the 1960s, serving, succession, as the Syrian ambassador to
A veteran member of the Ba'ath Party, Droubi was an advocate of socialism and pan-Arab unity. He was known to be a staunch supporter of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and is regarded as "one of the most acclaimed philosophers of Arab nationalism" in Syria, according to historian Sami Moubayed.[1]
Early life
Droubi was born in
During the 1950s, Droubi joined the
Diplomatic and political career
When Syria and Egypt united to form the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958 under Nasser's presidency, Droubi was appointed director of the Culture Ministry, and then was assigned to the UAR's embassy in Brazil to serve as its cultural consultant between 1960 and the union's dissolution by a military coup in Damascus in 1961. Afterward, Droubi returned to Syria and joined opposition to the secessionist government.[2]
When the Syrian government was
On 3 April, five of the six Nasserist ministers resigned from Bitar's government in protest at the Military Committee's purge of dozens of Nasserist officers.[3][note 1] In Bitar's second cabinet, formed in May, Droubi and two other pro-Nasser Ba'athist ministers (Abd al-Karim al-Zuhur and Jamal al-Atassi) were not included.[4] Droubi kept his position in the NCRC and on 19 June was part of a high-ranking delegation that included Bitar, Aflaq and Chief-of-Staff Ziad al-Hariri, the official leader of the 1963 coup, making a state visit to Algeria. During the visit, dozens of Hariri's politically independent loyalists in the officer corps were purged by the Ba'athist's Committee. Soon after Hariri returned to Syria to respond to the purges, he too was dismissed. Droubi remained in Algiers for a while longer, but returned to Syria later that month.[5] Droubi was highly critical of the purges and condemned the lack of progress in restoring the UAR.[2]
In September, President Amin al-Hafiz assigned him ambassador to Morocco, until December 1964 when he reassigned as ambassador to Yugoslavia.[2] After al-Hafiz was ousted by far-left elements of the Military Committee led by Salah Jadid in February 1966 and replaced by Nureddin al-Atassi, Atassi appointed Droubi ambassador to Egypt and Syria's representative to the Arab League on 16 April. His nomination was intended to prevent him from having influence over decision-making in Syria where he was a leading voice of opposition to Jadid's de facto rule. He condemned the expulsion of Aflaq and Bitar from Syria.[2] When he presented his credentials to Nasser in Egypt, he reportedly wept and stated it hurt him that Egypt and Syria were still not reunited, "as if I were not in one proud day a citizen of the republic in which you were president."[2]
Nasser died in September 1970, and Droubi was recalled to Syria in November by President Hafez al-Assad, who ousted and imprisoned Jadid and Atassi. A year later, Droubi was posted to Spain as Syria's ambassador, and then in October 1973, Assad appointed him ambassador to the Holy See of Vatican City. In October 1975, Droubi resigned from his diplomatic post and retired out of health concerns.[1]
Writings and translations
Some works translated into
Death
Droubi died in Syria on 12 February 1976.[1] His wife Ihssan al-Baiyat wrote his biography, Sami Al Droubi, published Dar al-Karmil in Damascus in 1982.[8] In the late 2000s, the Syrian culture ministry established a state translation contest and award named after Droubi.[9]
References
Notes
- ^ The Nasserist ministers who resigned were Nihad al-Qasim, Abd al-Wahhab Hawmad, Hani al-Hindi, Jihad Dahi and Sami Sufan. Defense Minister Muhammad al-Sufi, an independent Nasserist, resigned afterward.
Citations
- ^ a b c d Moubayed, 2006, p. 409.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Moubayed, 2006, p. 408.
- ^ Rabinovich, 1972, p. 61.
- ^ Rabinovich, 1972, p. 66.
- ^ Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut (1963), Middle East Forum, vol. 39–40, p. 7, archived from the original on 2023-04-02, retrieved 2023-05-25
- ISBN 978-3-87953-042-7.
- ^ Yugoslav Survey. Jugoslavija Publishing House. 1967. p. 158.
- ^ Higonnet, 1999, pp. 339-340.
- ^ "Mihran Minassian receives the first prize of the Syrian Translation Award | Azad-Hye". Archived from the original on 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780452281462.
- ISBN 978-1-885942-41-8.
- ISBN 9780706512663. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-05-25.