Muhsin al-Barazi

Muhsin al-Barazi

Muhsin al-Barazi ( Arabic محسن البرازي, DMG Muḥsin al-Barāzī , * 1904 in Hama , Vilâyet Aleppo ; † August 14, 1949 in Damascus , Syrian Republic ) was a Syrian academic, lawyer and politician.

Al-Barazi served as Prime Minister of the Syrian Republic from June 25, 1949 under the coup government of President Hosni az-Za'im and was executed after another coup in 1949, which in turn overthrew his government.

Early life

The Barazi was born into a famous landowning family of Kurdish roots in Hama . Educated in France , he graduated in law from the University of Lyon in 1930 and later became Professor of Law at the University of Damascus . In 1933 he founded the League of National Action with Faride Zeineddine , Constantin Zureiq , Zaki al-Arsuzi and Sabri al-Asali , which fought against French colonial influence .

Political career

Between April and September 1941, Barazi served as education minister in the cabinet of Chalid al-Azm . From 1943 and after Syria's independence in 1946 he became the personal advisor to President Shukri al-Quwatli . As the personal assistant and scribe of Quwatli's speeches, Barazi also served as the president's envoy in other countries.

Prime Minister

When the Quwatli government was overthrown in March 1949 by a coup d'état by Chief of Staff Husni az-Za'im , Barazi was the only Quwatli ally who retained his post and served as the closest advisor to the new President Zaim. On June 25, 1949, Zaim Barazi finally appointed Prime Minister.

Barazi used his strong ties with the Arab leaders in Lebanon , Jordan , Egypt and Saudi Arabia and received support for the government of Zaim.

Negotiations with Israel

Muhsin al-Barazi was tasked with negotiating secretly with Israel in order to negotiate a peace treaty between the two countries and to plan a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and az-Za'im. Negotiations went very well, and Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett contacted Barazi on August 6, 1949 to set a date for future peace negotiations.

Fall and execution

Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi , along with other officers of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, carried out a coup d'état that overthrew Muhsin al-Barazi's government on August 14, 1949. Az-Za'im and al-Barazi were both surrounded in the early hours of dusk and executed by shooting in the military barracks .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Sami M. Moubayed : Steel & Silk: Men & Women Who Shaped Syria 1900–2000 . Cune Press, 2006, ISBN 1-885942-41-9 , pp. 204-205 .
2. ↑ Sami M. Moubayed: Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship . University Press of America, 2000, ISBN 978-0-7618-1744-4 , pp. 48-50 .