Elias Farah (October 1, 1927 – December 8, 2013) was a Syrian writer and thinker born in the city of

Jisr al-Shughur Jisr ash-Shughūr ( ar, جِسْرُ ٱلشُّغُورِ, jisr aš-šuġūr, , also rendered as ''Jisser ash-Shughour'' and other spellings), known in antiquity as Seleucobelus ( el, Σελευκόβηλος, translit=Seleukóbēlos), is a city i ...

. He came from a Christian Orthodox family and spent much of his early life in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. Upon graduating with a degree in literature from

Syrian University The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...

, he started his teaching career in Aleppo. Later on, Farah pursued his graduate studies at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he studied under professor Jean Piaget and earned a doctorate in education and psychology in 1964. In 1947, he became one of the founding members of the Syrian Ba'ath Party. He was also was one of the closest companions of the party founder,

Michel Aflaq Michel Aflaq ( ar, ميشيل عفلق, Mīšīl ʿAflaq‎, , 9 January 1910 – 23 June 1989) was a Syrian philosopher, sociologist and Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Ba'athism and its politic ...

. Farah left Syria after the

1966 Syrian coup d'état The 1966 Syrian coup d'état refers to events between 21 and 23 February during which the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was overthrown and replaced. The ruling National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party were removed from power ...

which was carried out by the military wing of the Ba'ath party and led by Salah Jadid as well as the eventual Syrian president,

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 1 ...

. Farah fled to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and lived there for two years before later moving to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, where he continued his work in the Ba'ath Party. As Aflaq's age advanced, he withdrew more from party work, and from 1978 onwards, Farah was given the reigns to decide the ideological orientation of the party. After Aflaq's death in 1989, Iraqi President

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

became the new general secretary of the Ba'ath Party and appointed Farah as the director of the party academy in Baghdad. Farah returned to his native Syria in 2003 and settled in the capital of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. Due to the civil war in Syria, Farah moved to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

in April 2013. There, he died just a few months later on December 6th, 2013 at the age of 86. Elias Farah wrote several books about

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...

and the subject of Arab thoughts and ideology, as advocated by the Ba’ath Party, many of which were translated to several languages.">Full text of "Evolution of Arabic Revolutionary Ideology"
/ref>

Works

* ''Arab World after the Second World War'', (Beirut, 1975) References {{DEFAULTSORT:Farah, Elias 1927 births 2013 deaths Members of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party Syrian Arab nationalists Syrian writers