Fathallah Saqqal ( ar, فتح الله الصقال; 1898 – 27 March 1970) was a Syrian attorney, writer and government minister. He was well known for successfully arguing for Ibrahim Hananu's innocence in the French Mandatory courts in Syria regarding Hananu's participation in the

Hananu Revolt The Hananu Revolt (also known as the Aleppo RevoltMoubayed 2006, p. 604. or the Northern revolts) was an insurgency against French military forces in northern Syria, mainly concentrated in the western countryside of Aleppo, in 1920–1921. Suppo ...

between 1919 and 1921.

Biography

Saqqal was born in Aleppo in 1898 to father Michel Saqqal and mother Magida Baccache. The Saqqals were an

Armenian Catholic Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

family. Saqqal graduated from the French law school in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. Thereafter, he practiced law in the Mixed Courts of Egypt before returning to Aleppo in 1919 to open his own practice. During his first defense case, he argued his case in the elaborate manner he had grown accustomed to in Egypt, but which was frowned upon by the Ottoman court system and its Syrian successors, which preferred brief defense arguments (Syria had been part of the Ottoman Empire until 1918, after which it came under an informal Arab administration before French Mandatory rule began in 1920). Saqqal was told by the judge that if he were to continue in this manner, he ought to return to Cairo. Between 1919 and 1921, a revolt against French rule had been active throughout Aleppo's western countryside and the political leader of the revolt was Ibrahim Hananu. Hananu evaded capture by the French military by escaping to

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...

, but he was soon after extradited to the French authorities by British authorities in Transjordan. Saqqal defended Hananu during his four-day trial by the French Mandatory court in Aleppo between 15–18 March 1922. Saqqal produced for the court documents from

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, the capital of the Turkish state that succeeded the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia, that showed Hananu had been commanded by the Ottoman authorities to engage in war against the French in Syria. Saqqal also brought numerous Aleppine notables and religious figures to testify on Hanna's behalf, with their testimony generally painting a picture of Hananu as a patriot rather than a brigand rebel. Thus, Saqqal was able to persuade the court that Hananu had only been carrying out his military duties as an Ottoman soldier. The court acquitted Hananu on a three-two vote. His acquittal was widely celebrated in Aleppo and Syria. Saqqal later served as Minister of National Economy in the cabinet of Prime Minister Husni az-Za'im, who had overthrown President

Shukri al-Quwatli Shukri al-Quwatli ( ar, شكري القوّتلي, Shukrī al-Quwwatlī; 6 May 189130 June 1967) was the first president of post-independence Syria. He began his career as a dissident working towards the independence and unity of the Ottoman E ...

in April 1949. Za'im's government lasted until Za'im was killed in August 1949. Saqqal published Za'im's memoirs, ''Min Dhikrayat al-Za'im Husni al-Za'im'' (Recollections on Colonel Husni az-Za'im) in Cairo in 1951. Following Syria's secession from the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...

, Saqqal was one of the signatories of Syria's new National Charter. He died on 27 March 1970 in his hometown, Aleppo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saqqal, Fathallah 1898 births 1970 deaths Syrian Eastern Catholics People from Aleppo Syrian ministers of economy 20th-century Syrian lawyers Syrian writers Syrian people of Armenian descent