Muhsin al-Barazi

Muhsin al-Barazi was a Syrian lawyer, academic and politician. He was born in 1904 in Hama, Syria, to a Kurdish landowning family. He studied law in France and became a professor of law at Damascus University. He was one of the founders of the League of National Action, a political movement that opposed the French mandate and advocated for Arab unity and independence. He served as a minister of education and a personal assistant to President Shukri al-Quwatli. He became the prime minister of Syria in June 1949, under the military regime of Husni al-Zaim, who had overthrown al-Quwatli in a coup. Al-Barazi was involved in secret negotiations with Israel to reach a peace treaty and a possible summit between al-Zaim and David Ben-Gurion. He was also instrumental in extraditing Antun Saadeh, the leader of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, to Lebanon, where he was executed. Al-Barazi's government was toppled by another coup led by Sami al-Hinnawi, a member of the SSNP, in August 1949. Al-Barazi and al-Zaim were both captured and executed by firing squad at the military barracks in Damascus. Al-Barazi was known for his eloquence, intelligence and charisma. He was a prominent figure in the Syrian political scene and a champion of Arab nationalism.