Haydar al-Hassan
Haydar al-Hassan | |
|---|---|
 al-Hassan in 1950 | |
| 1st President of Syria | |
|
In office May 14, 1953 – April 17, 1967 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Farouk al-Malki |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 22, 1910 Hama, Syria Vilayet, Ottoman Empire |
| Died |
April 27, 1967 (aged 57) Damascus, Damascus Governorate, Syrian Arab Republic |
| Cause of death | Execution |
| Political party | Independent (military) |
| Other political affiliations | National Bloc (1955–1967) |
| Spouse(s) | TBD |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Damascus University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Ottoman Empire (to 1934) Kingdom of Syria |
| Branch/service |
Ottoman Army Syrian Army |
| Years of service | 1928–1953 |
| Rank | General |
Haydar al-Hassan (March 22, 1910 – April 27, 1967) was a Syrian military officer, revolutionary and politician who served as the first President of Syria and the founder of the First Syrian Republic of which he governed throughout its entire history. An officer in the Syrian Army, al-Hassan rose to the rank of colonel by the time he overthrew the Faisal I and established a new republican government with the backing of foreign powers.
Al-Hassan was born in Hama when Syria was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. After serving in the Ottoman Army, he would join the Syrian militia during the Great Arab Revolt and was commissioned as an officer in the Syrian army upon the country's formal independence in 1936 as the Kingdom of Syria. He rose through the ranks of the military, but was part of the Free Officers Movement, a group of military officers that opposed the monarchy and sought to establish a republican government viewing Faisal as a foreigner and puppet of Hashemite Arabia. Al-Hassan took control of the movement and lead the 1953 Syrian revolution which ended with the end of the monarchy and the creation of the Syrian Republic.
As President of the Syrian Republic, al-Hassan managed to continue the flow of foreign arms and investment into the country developing infrastructure, modernizing the army, and passing numerous economic and social reforms. He kept Syria neutral during Great War I and had the country trade with both sides, though abstained from trading with the Landonist International under the threat of the end of support from Germany and other states in the Triple Alliance. During the Interwar period, al-Hassan oversaw the emergence of political parties and would allow for elections ot be held, but these were largely symbolic as he made the legislature a rubber stamp and sought to retain as much power as possible. Under his leadership, the Syrian Armed Forces became one of the central institutions in Syrian society and lead a de-facto military dictatorship. While he remained an independent, he aligned with the National Bloc of Syria upon its formation in 1955 due to its support for his government.
Syria remained neutral in Great War II and during early stages of the the Arab Cold War, however the emergence of the Democratic Arab Socialist Union caused problems as they became the leading underground political movement opposing his government. By the 1950s, al-Hassan received the backing of the Royal Intelligence Agency in Sierra and MI6 in the United Kingdom and became dependent on them to maintain his power and aid in suppressing left-wing political opposition as Landonism and Ba'athism began spreading in the country and were banned as "deviant ideologies" with purges in the economy, government, and military being carried out during the latter half of his reign. On April 17, 1967, he was overthrown in a military coup lead by Farouk al-Malki and was executed ten days later by the newly established Syrian Arab Republic.
al-Hassan has a mixed and complicated legacy in contemporary Syria. During the Ba'athist era, he was denounced as a western puppet and a cruel dictator by the regime with his accomplishments being ignored or credited to the regime. After the end of the Ba'athist government in 2004 and the creation of the modern Syrian Republic, an evaluation has been made portraying him in a more complicated light being credited for modernizing the country, pushing for industrialization, and developing the Trans-Arabian pipeline, but is also criticized for his authoritarian style of governance, reliance on Western support, and frequent campaigns of political repression.
Early life and career
He was born in 1910 in Hama, in what was then the Syria Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. In 1926, he started attending the Ottoman War Academy in Constantinople, and graduated as a second lieutenant of the artillery in 1929. He was assigned to the 19th Infantry Division, with a majority of its troops being Syrian Arab soldiers, and was stationed in Aleppo. His Ottoman service record described him as a model officer, and was promoted to captain by early 1932.
The Arab Revolt
Military career
Post-revolt developments
Free Officers Movement
Presidency
Taking power
Economic policies
Domestic policies
Foreign policy
Repression
Downfall and legacy
Fall from power
Modern evaluation
See also
- Start-class articles
- Altverse II
- 1910 births
- 1967 deaths
- Presidents of Syria
- 20th-century Syrian politicians
- Syrian military personnel
- People from Hama
- Damascus University alumni
- Leaders ousted by a coup
- Executed military personnel
- Leaders who took power by coup
- Syrian anti-Landonists
- National Bloc of Syria politicians