The National Party ( ar, الحزب الوطني ''al-Ḥizb al-Waṭanī''; french: Parti National) was a

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n political party founded in 1947, eventually dissolving in 1963, after the

Syrian Ba'ath Party 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 ...

established one-party rule in Syria in a coup d'état. It grew out of the National Bloc, which opposed the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, and later demanded independence from 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 ...

. The party saw the greatest support among the

Damascene Damascene may refer to: * Topics directly associated with the city of Damascus in Syria: ** A native or inhabitant of Damascus ** Damascus Arabic, the local dialect of Damascus ** Damascus steel, developed for swordmaking ** "Damascene moment", the ...

old guard and industrialists. It supported closer ties with the Arab countries and territories to Syria's south, mainly Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Mandatory Palestine, although it began supporting Hashemite-ruled Iraq and Jordan starting in 1949 amongst growing public support. While the dominant party in 1940s and early 1950s, it was replaced by its rival, the People's Party, thereafter. Similar to the People's Party, the National Party was also supported by landowners and landlords. In 1936, leaders of the National Bloc (

Hashim al-Atassi Hashim al-Atassi ( ar, هاشم الأتاسي, Hāšim al-ʾAtāsī; 11 January 1875 – 5 December 1960) was a Syrian nationalist and statesman and the President of Syria from 1936 to 1939, 1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1955. Background and e ...

Saadallah al-Jabiri Saadallah Al Jabiri ( ar, سعد الله الجابري; 1893–1947) was a Syrian Arab politician, a two-time prime minister and a two-time Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Syria. Jabiri was exiled by the French authorities to t ...

Lutfi al-Haffar Lutfi al-Haffar ( ar, لطفي الحفار) (18 February 1885 – 4 February 1968) was a Syrian businessman and politician. He was a founding member of the National Bloc and served as 11th Prime Minister of Syria in 1939. Early career Al-Haff ...

, Jamil Mardam Bey, Shukri al-Quwatli,

Nasib al-Bakri Nasib al-Bakri ( ar, نسيب البكري; 1888–1966) was a Syrian politician and nationalist leader in the first half of the 20th century. He played a major role in establishing al-Fatat, an underground organization which sought the independe ...

Ibrahim Hananu Ibrahim Hananu or Ibrahim Hanano (1869–1935) ( ar, إبراهيم هنانو, Ibrāhīm Hanānū) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman municipal official and later a leader of a Hananu Revolt, revolt against the French presence in northern Syria. He w ...

, Sultan Basha al-Atrash,

Faris al-Khoury Faris al-Khoury ( ar, فارس الخوري, Fāris al-Khūrī) (November 20, 1877 – January 2, 1962) was a Syrian statesman, minister, prime minister, speaker of parliament, and father of modern Syrian politics. Faris Khoury went on to become p ...

, Saleh al-Ali, Faisal Najib, Honorary Sami Al Baroudi and Mohamed Alomar) sent a delegation to France demanding independence. The delegation was headed by Hashim Atassi and included Saadallah al-Jabiri, Faris al-Khoury, Jamil Mardam Bey, Ministers Odmon Humusi and Amir Naim

Mustafa al-Shihabi Prince Mustafa Al-Shihabi ( ar, الأمير مصطفى الشهابي; 1893 – 1968) was a Syrian agronomist, politician, writer and the third elected director of Arab Academy of Damascus (1959–1968). "Prince" title was only of a social backgr ...

with Antioch as General Secretary. A new political movement with the same name, but no direct connection to the historical National Party, was established in 2005 in support of the

Bashar Al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

regime. The party grew in popularity because of increased use of internet communication.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:National Party 1948 establishments in Syria 1963 disestablishments in Syria Arab nationalism in Syria Arab nationalist political parties Conservative parties in Asia Defunct conservative parties Defunct nationalist parties Defunct political parties in Syria National conservative parties Nationalist parties in Syria Political parties disestablished in 1963 Political parties established in 1947 Republican parties Republicanism in the Arab world Syrian nationalism