Sabri al-Asali

Sabri al-Asali was a Syrian politician and a three-time prime minister of Syria. He also served as vice-president of the United Arab Republic in 1958. He was born into a wealthy landowning family in Damascus and graduated with a law degree in 1925. He participated in the Great Syrian Revolt against the French occupation and was exiled to Saudi Arabia, where he became an advisor to King Abd al-Aziz. He returned to Syria in 1932 and joined the National Bloc, an umbrella group that led the political struggle against the French. He was elected to parliament in 1936 and became a founding member of the League of National Action, a pan-Arabist movement that called for the abolition of the French and British mandates and the economic integration of Arab countries. He served as prime minister for the first time in 1954, after the overthrow of the military dictator Adib al-Shishakli. He formed a coalition government that included the Ba'ath Party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, and the Communist Party. He resigned in June 1954 after a dispute with the Ba'ath over the issue of land reform. He became prime minister again in February 1955 and pursued a pro-Egyptian and anti-Western foreign policy. He signed a defense pact with Egypt and rejected the Baghdad Pact, a military alliance between Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom. He also supported the Algerian Revolution against France and the Palestinian cause against Israel. He resigned in September 1955 after a failed assassination attempt against him by members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. He became prime minister for the third time in June 1956 and continued his close cooperation with Egypt. He supported the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and condemned the tripartite aggression by Britain, France, and Israel in the Suez Crisis. He also advocated for the union of Syria and Egypt and played a key role in the formation of the United Arab Republic in 1958. He became the vice-president of the new state and the head of the Syrian region. However, he soon faced opposition from the Syrian officers and politicians who resented the Egyptian domination and interference in Syrian affairs. He was accused of being a puppet of Nasser and a traitor to Syria. He was ousted from power in September 1961, after a military coup that dissolved the union and restored the Syrian Arab Republic. He was arrested and put on trial for treason, but was acquitted and released in 1962. He retired from politics and lived in Damascus until his death in 1976. He was regarded as one of the most prominent and influential Syrian leaders of the 20th century and a champion of Arab nationalism and unity.