Husni al-Barazi ( ar, حسني البرازي; 1895–1975) was a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

Kurdish politician who served as

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Origins and youth

Husni al-Barazi was born in the Syrian city of

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

into a prominent landowning family of Kurdish origin. He was educated in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

where he attended classes with the Bedir Khan brothers. Later he received a doctorate degree from the Sorbonne.

Political activity

During the

French Mandate The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...

, Al-Barazi joined the Syrian opposition to French rule, but in 1926 he was arrested for his opposition activities and was exiled 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 ...

. Upon returning to Syria in 1928, Al-Barazi ran for parliamentary elections and was elected a Member of the

Syrian Parliament The People's Assembly ( ar, مَجْلِس الشَّعْب, ) is Syria's legislative authority. It has 250 members elected for a four-year term in 15 multi-seat constituencies. There are two main political fronts; the National Progressive Fro ...

. Al-Barazi reportedly played a prominent role in the local

hashish Hashish ( ar, حشيش, ()), also known as hash, "dry herb, hay" is a drug made by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant, typically focusing on flowering buds (female flowers) containing the most trichomes. European Monitorin ...

market. He was appointed Minister of Culture from 1934 till 1936, then Governor of Alexandretta (Iskenderun) from 1936 to 1938. In April 1942 he was appointed

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, but was removed from his position and isolated by the French authorities in January 1943, following which he again moved to Lebanon.

Downfall, exile and death

Al Barazi returned to Syria in 1946 and remained in his position as Member of Parliament during all the military coups that took place from the late forties until the mid fifties. During this period, he was accused of plotting against the state and was arrested several times. However, in 1948 he was Governor of

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

, and the following year became deputy to the military governor of Syria under

Husni al-Za'im Husni al-Za'im ( ar, حسني الزعيم ''Ḥusnī az-Za’īm''; 11 May 1897 – 14 August 1949) was a Syrian military officer and politician of Kurdish origin. Husni al-Za'im, had been an officer in the Ottoman Army. After France instituted ...

. In Aleppo he co-founded the newspaper ''al-Nass'', which was critical of Egypt's leader

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

. He went into final exile in 1954, when, while he was on a trip to Turkey, he was accused of plotting and conspiring against Syria, and was sentenced to death in absentia. In the late 1960s, al-Barazi was pardoned on account of his old age but never returned to Syria; he remained in exile between Lebanon and Turkey, where he died in 1975.

References

External links

1895 births 1975 deaths Prime Ministers of Syria People from Hama Syrian ministers of culture Members of the People's Assembly of Syria Syrian Kurdish politicians Al-Barazi family {{Syria-politician-stub