Salim Hatum

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Hatum before 1967

Salim Hatum ( 1928 - June 26, 1967 ) was a Syrian officer and politician of the Ba'ath Party . He played a leading role in the Baath Party's takeover in 1963 and the military coup in February 1966. In September 1966, he himself attempted a coup against Salah Jadid and Hafiz al-Assad, which failed. After Jordanian exile, he returned to Syria during the Six Day War and was executed by the Syrian government .

Life

Salim Hatum came from a Druze family of medium-sized landowners from Jabal ad-Duruz . Hatum became an army officer and a member of the Ba'ath Party. In his role as an officer, he actively helped in the March 8th Revolution, in which the Ba'ath Party took power in the state. In February 1966, the party's military leadership led by Salah Jadid and Hafiz al-Assad launched a coup against the civilian government of Amin al-Hafiz . Hatum was entrusted with the task of arresting the head of state, Amin al-Hafiz. He carried out this mission, but around 50 people died in the course of the action. Amin al-Hafiz and parts of his family were wounded in the course of the firefights. Hatum was criticized as ruthless within the junta for this approach and after the successful coup was not promoted to the inner circle of power.

Because of this reset, Hatum planned another coup, this time against Jadid and Assad. He recruited his co-conspirators from those involved in the previous coup. However, the conspiracy was exposed in the preparatory phase. Hatum went to his home around the Jebel ad-Duruz . Meanwhile, the Syrian secret service arrested actual and alleged co-conspirators of Hatum from the Druze community. Jadid and President Nureddin al-Atassi visited the Druze stronghold of al-Suwaida under the protection of Druze notables in order to calm the situation. The two were imprisoned by Hatum's partisans. Under the leadership of Hafiz al-Assad, the coup was finally suppressed by military means. The air force bombed the citadel of as-Suwaida and the army deployed the 70th tank brigade to bring the area back under control. Hatum fled prosecution by the Syrian state and was granted political asylum in Jordan . Hatum was sentenced to death in absentia by a special court under Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass .

During the Six Day War , Hatum returned to Syria with the support of the Jordanian government under Wasfi at-Tall . He hoped that he could come to power himself and did not expect revenge from the weakened regime of Salah Jadid. Here he also received financial support from Jordanian authorities. Hatum was executed in Syria on June 26, 1967.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Sami Moubayed: Steel an Silk Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000, Seattle, 2006, pp. 52–54
  2. ↑ Avi Shlaim: Israel and Palestine. London, 2009, p. 99
personal data
SURNAME Hatum, Salim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Syrian officer and Baathist
DATE OF BIRTH 1928
DATE OF DEATH June 26, 1967