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Husni al-Za'im | |
|---|---|
| حسني الزعيم | |
 | |
| President of Syria | |
| In office 26 June 1949 – 14 August 1949 | |
| Prime Minister | Muhsin al-Barazi |
| Preceded by | Shukri al-Quwatli |
| Succeeded by | Sami Hilmy al-Hinnawi (acting) Hashim al-Atassi |
| Prime Minister of Syria | |
| In office 30 March 1949 – 26 June 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Khalid al-Azm |
| Succeeded by | Muhsin al-Barazi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 May 1897 |
| Died | 14 August 1949 (aged 52) |
| Political party | Independent politician SSNP (affiliated) |
| Profession | Statesman, soldier |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service |  Ottoman Army French Army Syrian Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1949 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Battles/wars | |
Husni al-Za'im (Arabic:حسني الزعيمḤusnī az-Za’īm; 11 May 1897 – 14 August 1949) was a Syrian Kurdish military officer who served as head of state of Syria in 1949.[1] He had been an officer in theOttoman Army.[2] After France instituted itscolonialmandate overSyria after the First World War, he became an officer in theFrench Army and later in theSyrian Army of the newly-independentSyrian Republic. FollowingAbdullah Atfeh's early defeats in the early days of the1948 Arab-Israeli War, al-Zaim was madeChief of Staff. The defeat of theArab league forces in that war shook Syria and undermined confidence in the country's chaoticparliamentary democracy, allowing him to seize power in 1949. However, his reign as head of state was brief, he was tried and executed in August 1949 by his former coup co-conspirators. Al-Za'im infamously executed Lebanese intellectualAntoun Saadeh in July 1949.[citation needed]
On 30 March 1949, al-Za'im seized power in a bloodlesscoup d'état. There are "highly controversial" allegations that the U.S.Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) engineered the coup.[3] Most of the evidence currently available suggests that the decision to initiate a coup was Za'im's alone, but Za'im benefited from some degree of American assistance in planning the operation.[4]
Four days after the coup that overthrew democratic rule the Syrian government ratified the controversialTrans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) deal.[5]
Syria'sPresident,Shukri al-Kuwatli, was briefly imprisoned, but then released into exile in Egypt. Al-Za'im also imprisoned many political leaders, such asMunir al-Ajlani, whom he accused of conspiring to overthrow the republic. The coup was carried out with discreet backing of the American embassy, concerned about the increasing presence of far left anti-democratic elements in the government, and possibly assisted by theSyrian Social Nationalist Party, although al-Za'im himself is not known to have been a member.[citation needed] Among the officers that assisted al-Za'im's takeover wasAdib al-Shishakli andSami al-Hinnawi, who staged another coup four months later on 13 August 1949 and had al-Za'im tried and executed by a firing squad the following day on 14 August 1949.[6]
Al-Za'im's takeover, the first military coup in the history of Syria, would have lasting effects, as it shattered the country's fragile and flawed democratic rule, and set off a series of increasingly violent military revolts. Two more would follow in August and December 1949.
Hissecular policies and proposals for the emancipation of women through granting them the vote and suggesting they should give up the Islamic practice ofveiling, created a stir among Muslim religious leaders (Women's suffrage was only achieved during the third civilian administration ofHashim al-Atassi, a staunch opponent of military rule). Raising taxes also aggrieved businessmen, andArab nationalists were still smouldering over his signing of acease-fire with Israel, as well as his deals with US oil companies for building theTrans-Arabian Pipeline. He made a peace overture to Israel offering to settle 300,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria, in exchange for border modifications along the cease fire line and half of Israel'sLake Tiberias.[7] Settling the refugees was made conditional on sufficient outside assistance for the Syrian economy. The overture was answered very slowly by Tel Aviv and not treated seriously.[8][better source needed]
Lacking popular support, al-Za'im was overthrown after just four and a half months by his colleagues, al-Shishakli and al-Hinnawi. As al-Hinnawi took power as leader of a military junta, Husni al-Za'im was swiftly spirited away toMezze prison in Damascus, and executed along withPrime MinisterMuhsin al-Barazi.
Al-Za'im worked hard to abolish wearing the fez, claiming that it was outdated headwear taken from the days of the Ottoman Empire.
He is credited for giving support to women's right to vote and run for public office in Syria. The law had been debated at the Syrian Parliament since 1920 and no leader dared to support it, except Za'im.
During the 137 days of his rule in Syria al-Za'im did not execute anyone. He did have inventive punishments for those who disobeyed him, however. When the quality of bread dropped to unacceptable levels, Zaim ordered all bakers to walk on the gravel, barefoot, until blood flowed from their feet.[9]
Husni al-Za’im's wife Nouran, was the first lady of Syria from April to August 1949. The marriage took place in 1947, two years before Husni al-Zaim became President of the Republic. In order to please his young wife, Zaim asked her 11-year-old sister Kariman to live with them in Damascus. He treated her as a sister as well, and sent her to the Lycee Laique (one of the finest preparatory high schools in town). Another sister Orfan, would visit them often, and took up the habit of playing with a guard,Abdel Hamid Sarraj (the chief of security at the president's office who went on to become head of the intelligence bureau and minister of interior during the union years with Egypt 1958–1961).
During the incidence of al-Za'im's arrest, and when the guards came to arrest him, Zaim got dressed and said goodbye to his pregnant wife. "Relax" he asked her, "I will be back soon to receive our first baby together!" Niveen (his daughter) said, "My mother and aunt told me that the couch they had been sitting on was riddled with bullets. Sarraj knew in advance that an attack was coming and told them to go upstairs to keep them from harm's way." Less than a week before the coup—which led to the execution by firing squad of Za'im and his Prime Minister Muhsen al-Barazi—Nouran's cousins came to him, saying that they had confirmed intelligence information. They added thatSami al-Hinnawi (his comrade from the war of 1948) was planning to have him killed. Zaim summoned Hinnawi and directly asked, "Sami, my brothers-in-law are telling me you want to kill me?" Hinnawi replied, "Impossible. How can I kill my leader and friend?" After the president was arrested on 14 August, Nouran and her sister were kept under house arrest for an entire week. "No food was brought into the house," said Niveen. A Senegalese guard tried helping them by passing his own food through the window.[9]
| Preceded by | President of Syria 1949(4 months and 3 days) | Succeeded by Hashim al-Atassi (military rule) |
| 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 period (2024–present) | .svg)
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* 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 period (2024–2025) | |
* acting | |
| Arab Kingdom of Syria (1920) | |
|---|---|
| French Mandate of Syria (1920–1946) post established 1932 | |
| First and Second Syrian Republic (1946–1958) | |
| United Arab Republic (1958–1961) | |
| Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963) | |
| Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024) post-1963 Syrian coup d'état | |
| Transitional period (2024–present) | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
