Lu'ay al-Atassi | |
|---|---|
لؤي الأتاسي | |
 Atassi in 1963 | |
| President of Syria | |
| In office 9 March 1963 – 27 July 1963 | |
| Prime Minister | Khalid al-Azm Salah al-Din al-Bitar |
| Vice President | Muhammad Umran |
| Preceded by | Nazim al-Kudsi |
| Succeeded by | Amin al-Hafiz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1926 |
| Died | 24 November 2003(2003-11-24) (aged 76–77) Homs,Syrian Arab Republic |
| Political party | Independent |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | .svg) First Syrian Republic (1948–1950)Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) United Arab Republic (1958–1961)Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963)Ba'athist Syria (1963) |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Battles/wars | 1948 Arab–Israeli War |
| Atassi becamede jurePresident on 23 March 1963. | |
Lu'ay al-Atassi (Arabic:لؤي الأتاسي,romanized: Luʾayy al-ʾAtāsī; 1926 − 24 November 2003)[1] was a Syrianmilitary officer who served as thepresident of Syria from March 1963 until his resignation in July of that same year.
Atassi was born inHoms in 1926 to the politically prominentSunniArabal-Atassi clan. He entered the officer corps after graduating from theHoms Military Academy in the mid-1940s, and fought during the1948 Arab-Israeli War inPalestine. In 1954, PresidentHashim al-Atassi appointed him Chief of Military Protocol. He was transferred toEgypt, where he served as the assistant military attache inCairo's Syrian embassy in 1956. There, he became a supporter of Egyptian PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser and hispan-Arabist policies. Atassi was among the Syrian officers who lobbied for unity with Egypt, which was realized in February 1958 with the formation of theUnited Arab Republic (UAR).[2]
Atassi criticized Syria's secession from the union in September 1961 after a military coup in 1961.[2] In April 1962 unionist officers led byJassem Alwan staged an attempted coup against the government. Alwan,Hamad Ubayd andMuhammad Umran led the effort inAleppo and Homs, while Atassi led the operation inDeir ez-Zor.[3] According to historianSami Moubayed, Atassi attempted to mediate a truce between the coup leaders and the government, but was unable. After the coup attempt, he was sent to the Syrian embassy inWashington D.C. to serve as the military attache. The officers were imprisoned and brought to military trial, where Atassi was recalled to testify against them, but refused out of his sympathies with officers. Atassi was consequently arrested and jailed inDamascus'sMezzeh Prison.[2]
On 8 March 1963, a coalition of Arab nationalist officers organized by theMilitary Committee of theBa'ath Party launcheda military coup, toppling the secessionist government ofNazim al-Qudsi. The officers immediately freed Atassi and appointed him to theNational Council for the Revolutionary Command, the effective interim government of the country,[2] and made him president on 23 March. Atassi was a politically independent Arab nationalist and was made Chief-of Staff after its execution.[4] From the Committee's standpoint, Atassi was ideal for the position because he lacked a support base and thus posed no threat to the junta's supremacy. His presidential powers were limited, and in practice he served more as a figurehead leader.[5]
On 18 July Atassi led a Syrian delegation toAlexandria, Egypt, to repair Syrian government relations with Nasser after dozens of Nasserist officers were purged from their high-ranking posts between late April and early May by the Military Committee. On the same day, Nasserist officerJassem Alwan led a coup against the Ba'athists, but failed. Many people were killed in the coup attempt and 20 participating officers were executed by Ba'athist-dominated government. Disapproving of the manner in which the coup officers were dealt with, Atassi resigned on 27 July.[6] Thereafter, he retired from all political activity.[5]
Atassi lived the remainder of his life in Homs, until his death in November 2003.[5]
| French mandate (1922–1930) |  |
|---|---|
| First Syrian Republic (1930–1950) | |
| Second Syrian Republic (1950–1958) | |
| 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)
|
* acting | |