Amin al-Hafez | |
|---|---|
أمين الحافظ | |
 Hafez in 1965 | |
| Regional Secretary of theRegional Command of theSyrian Regional Branch | |
| In office 4 October 1964 – 19 December 1965 | |
| Secretary General | Michel Aflaq Munif al-Razzaz |
| Preceded by | Shibli al-Aysami |
| Succeeded by | Nureddin al-Atassi (Regional Command dissolved in December 1965, new Regional Secretary elected in March 1966) |
| President of Syria | |
| In office 27 July 1963 – 23 February 1966 | |
| Vice President | Muhammad Umran Nureddin al-Atassi Shibli al-Aysami |
| Preceded by | Lu'ay al-Atassi |
| Succeeded by | Nureddin al-Atassi |
| Prime Minister of Syria | |
| In office 4 October 1964 – 23 September 1965 | |
| Preceded by | Salah al-Din Bitar |
| Succeeded by | Yusuf Zu'ayyin |
| In office 12 November 1963 – 13 May 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Salah al-Din Bitar |
| Succeeded by | Salah al-Din Bitar |
| Member of theNational Command of theArab Socialist Ba'ath Party | |
| In office 23 October 1963 – 23 February 1966 | |
| Member of theRegional Command of theSyrian Regional Branch | |
| In office 1 February 1964 – 19 December 1965 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1921 (1921) Aleppo,State of Aleppo |
| Died | 17 December 2009(2009-12-17) (aged 88) Aleppo,Syrian Arab Republic |
| Political party | Ba'ath Party |
| Spouse | Zeinab al-Hafiz |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ba'athist Syria |
| Branch/service |  Syrian Army |
| Years of service | 1938–1966 |
| Rank |  General of the Army |
| Battles/wars | First Arab-Israeli War |
Amin al-Hafiz (Arabic:أمين الحافظ,romanized: Amīn al-Ḥāfiẓ 1921 – 17 December 2009),[1] also known asAmin Hafez, was a Syrian general, politician, and member of theBa'ath Party who served as thepresident of Syria from 27 July 1963 to 23 February 1966.
Amin al-Hafiz was born in 1921 in aSunni Arab family, the son of a police officer from the city ofAleppo. When he was young, like other students, he threw stones at the French colonial authorities during theFrench mandate of Syria. In 1948, at the age of 27, al-Hafiz volunteered to fight in the1948 Arab–Israeli War. In 1954, he joined theuprising againstAdib Shishakli and was promoted to command the Eastern Front atDeir ez-Zor and then to be commander of the Homs academy, before being posted toCairo. When Syria broke with Egypt in September 1961, al-Hafiz was sent home to Damascus.[2]
During his stay in Damascus, he was contacted again by the military committee's leader,Muhammad Umran. In December 1961, theQudsi regime exiled Amin toBuenos Aires asmilitary attaché, and it was from there that he was summoned back to Syria by the victorious officers after the8 March coup.[2] The coup d'état, led by the military committee, introduced al-Hafiz to public life. In the aftermath, theNational Council of the Revolutionary Command (NCRC) became the country's supreme organ. It was dominated by the Syrian branch of the radical,pan-ArabBa'ath Party. Amin becamepresident, instituted socialist reforms, and oriented his country towards theEastern Bloc.
On 23 February 1966, al-Hafiz was overthrown by a radical Ba'athist faction headed by Chief of StaffSalah Jadid.[3][4] A late warning telegram of thecoup d'état was sent from Egyptian PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser toNasim al-Safarjalani (The General Secretary of Presidential Council), on the early morning of the coup d'état. The coup sprung out of factional rivalry between Jadid's "regionalist" (qutri) camp of the Ba'ath Party, which promoted ambitions for aGreater Syria, and the more traditionally pan-Arab al-Hafiz faction, called the "nationalist" (qawmi) faction. Jadid's supporters were also seen as more radically left-wing.[5] The coup was also supported and led by officers from Syria's religious minorities, especially theAlawites and theDruze, whereas al-Hafiz belonged to the majoritySunni population.
After being wounded in the three-hour shootout that preceded the coup, in which two of his children were seriously injured, al-Hafiz was jailed in Damascus's Mezzeh prison before being sent to Lebanon in June 1967. A year later, he was relocated toBaghdad. In 1971, the courts ofDamascus sentenced him to deathin absentia; however,Saddam Hussein "treated him and his fellow exile, Ba'ath founderMichel Aflaq, like royalty", and the sentence was not carried out.[6] After the fall of Saddam in the Iraq War of 2003, al-Hafiz was quietly allowed to return to Syria.[7] He died in Aleppo on 17 December 2009; reports of his age differ, but he was believed to be in his late 80s.[1][8] He received a state-sponsored funeral.[6]
Amin al-Hafiz was portrayed byWaleed Zuaiter in the Netflix seriesThe Spy.[9]
| French mandate (1922–1930) |  |
|---|---|
| First Syrian Republic (1930–1950) | |
| Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) | .svg) |
| United Arab Republic (1958–1961) | %2c_Flag_of_Syria_(1980%25E2%2580%25932024).svg) |
| Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963) | |
| Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024) | |
| Transitional government (2024–present) | 
|
* acting | |
| Arab Kingdom of Syria (1920) | .svg) |
|---|---|
| French mandate (1920–1930) | |
| First Syrian Republic (1930–1950) | |
| Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) | |
| United Arab Republic (1958–1961) | |
| Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963) | |
| Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024) | |
| Transitional government (2024–present) | |
* acting | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
