Noureddin Mustafa Ali al-Atassi ( ar, نور الدين مصطفى الأتاسي, translit=Nūr ad-Dīn Muṣṭafā al-'Atasī, 11 January 1929 – 3 December 1992) was

President of Syria The president of Syria, officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: رئيس سوريا) is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discretion, t ...

from February 1966 to November 1970.

Early life and education

Atassi was born in

Homs ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

in 1929 to the famous Al Atassi family.

Career

Atassi was a medical doctor by training, and in that capacity aided the Algerian forces against the French in the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. A longtime ideologue of the powerful

Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused ...

Atassi became its General Secretary as well as President of the Republic in 1966. He was considered to be largely a ceremonial figurehead, with real power vested in the Deputy General Secretary, Salah Jadid. In 1970, he was deposed along with Salah Jadid in a coup by

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 ...

, his defense minister.

Arrest and death

Along with other members of the government, al-Atassi was put under arrest without trial following the coup of 1970. Then he was transferred to the Mezze military prison in Damascus where he lived from 1970 to 1992. After 22-year imprisonment, he was released and flown to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

to receive medical treatment in France on 22 November 1992, and died at a hospital in December 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atassi, Noureddin al- 1929 births 1992 deaths Noureddin People from Homs Presidents of Syria Prime Ministers of Syria Vice presidents of Syria Ba'athist rulers Leaders ousted by a coup Members of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction) Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region Syrian Arab nationalists Syrian Sunni Muslims Syrian people of Turkish descent Heads of government who were later imprisoned