Abdul-Karim al-Jundi | |
|---|---|
عبد الكريم الجندي | |
 Abd al-Karim al-Jundi, 1966 | |
| Minister of Agrarian Reform | |
| In office 1 March 1966 – 15 October 1966 | |
| President | Nureddin al-Atassi |
| Prime Minister | Yusuf Zuwayin |
| Preceded by | Jamil Haddad |
| In office 4 October 1964 – 21 December 1965 | |
| President | Amin al-Hafiz |
| Prime Minister | Amin al-Hafiz Yusuf Zuayyin |
| Preceded by | Salah Wazzan |
| Succeeded by | Jamil Haddad |
| Director of theNational Security Bureau of theSyrian Regional Branch | |
| In office 27 March 1966 – 2 March 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Naji Jamil |
| Member of theRegional Command of theSyrian Regional Branch | |
| In office 27 March 1966 – 13 March 1969 | |
| In office 1 August 1965 – 19 December 1965 | |
| In office 1 February 1964 – 4 April 1965 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1932 |
| Died | 2 March 1969 (aged 37) |
| Political party | Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (1952–1966) Syrian-led Ba'ath Party (Syrian branch: 1966–1969) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Second Syrian Republic (1952–1958) United Arab Republic (1958–1961)Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963) Ba'athist Syria (1963–1969) |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Commands | Commander of the Rocket Forces atal-Qutayfah (1963–1964) |
Abd al-Karim al-Jundi (Arabic:عبد الكريم الجندي; 1932 – 2 March 1969) was aSyrian military officer and founding member of theBa'ath Party's Military Committee which took over power in the country after the1963 military coup. He also served asMinister of Agrarian Reform, Director of theNational Security Bureau and leader of theRed National Guard.[1]
Al-Jundi was born to a small landowning family in the rural town ofSalamiyah in theHamah Governorate. Though Salamiyah was a predominantlyIsmaili town, al-Jundi belonged to theSunni minority of the area and would later in life be known as 'an inciter of anti-Ismaili sentiments.'[2] Al-Jundi received his military training at theHoms Military Academy.[3]
Al-Jundi, like many members of his family, joined theBa'ath Party early in his youth.[3] In 1960, al-Jundi, then acaptain in the army of theUnited Arab Republic (UAR), became a founding member of the secretiveMilitary Committee of the Ba'ath Party.[note 1] In the beginning, the Military Committee's goal was to rebuild the Ba'ath Party, which had been dissolved on the orders ofGamal Abdel Nasser when the UAR was founded, and establish a new party leadership.[5] Following theSyrian secessionist coup of 1961 that ended the UAR, the Military Committee started planning its own coup against the secessionist government.[6]
On 8 March 1963, the Military Committee launched asuccessful coup against the government ofNazim al-Qudsi, bringing the Ba'ath Party to power in Syria. Following the coup, al-Jundi became a member of theNational Council for the Revolutionary Command, and the Ba'ath Party Regional Command.[7] Between 1963 and 1964, he served as commander of the Rocket Forces atal-Qutayfah.[8]
Between 4 October 1964 and 21 December 1965, al-Jundi served asMinister of Agrarian Reform in the two successive cabinets ofAmin al-Hafiz andYusuf Zuayyin.[9] Al-Jundi's tenure saw rapidstate appropriation of agrarian land from traditional landowners. But he was opposed to the redistribution of the lands in small lots. Instead, he advocated collective farming.[10] In 1966, Al-Jundi was again given the portfolio of agrarian reform in the Yusuf Zuayyin cabinet, which lasted from 1 March to 15 October.[11]
Following the1966 coup d'état,Salah Jadid became the undisputed strongman of the country. He began his rule by re-organizing all the intelligence agencies under the central command of the Baath Party's National Security Bureau.[12] Jadid appointed his ally, al-Jundi, to head the National Security Bureau, which became known as the most intimidating apparatus in the country.[13] The Bureau, under al-Jundi, acquired a notorious reputation in the country for its brutal methods of rooting out opponents,[14] including arbitrary arrests, torture and infiltrating civil society with state informers.[15]
In early 1969 the power-struggle between Defence MinisterHafez al-Assad and Jadid became increasingly bitter and violent. As a result, al-Jundi's power and influence rapidly declined. He committed suicide on 2 March 1969 after an argument on the phone with chief of military intelligence, Ali Zaza, which occurred after al-Jundi's personal driver was arrested by Zaza's security forces loyal to al-Assad.[16]
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