Sabah Qabbani ( ar, صباح قبّاني; June 5, 1928 – January 1, 2015) was appointed ambassador of

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 ...

to the United States by President

Hafez Al-Asad 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 197 ...

in 1974. The post had been vacant since 1967 when diplomatic relations between

and the United States were severed following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Prior to his posting in Washington, D.C. he was Syria’s envoy to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and Syria's consul in New York.

Background

Qabbani received a degree in law from

Damascus 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 ...

in 1949 and a PhD in International Law from

Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; french: Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV) was a public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the Universit ...

in Paris in 1952. Moubayed, Sami; Steel & silk: men and women who shaped Syria 1900–2000, p. 417 After returning to Syria, he joined the Ministry of Culture and became director of the Syrian Radio programs in 1953. He helped promote Arab stars such as

Abdel Halim Hafez Abdel Halim Ali Shabana ( ar, عبد الحليم علي شبانة), commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez ( ar, عبد الحليم حافظ,) (June 21, 1929 – March 30, 1977), was an Egyptian singer, actor, conductor, businessman, music teach ...

and Doreid Lahham. Then on July 23, 1960, Qabbani became the director of Syrian Television during the Egyptian-Syrian union. In 1962, Qabbani joined the Ministry of Foreign affairs and became Syria's consul in New York. After returning to Syria in 1966, he became director of press and media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He remained at his post until becoming Syria's envoy to Indonesia in 1968. In 1973, Qabbani returned to Syria and became director of the US desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was later appointed ambassador to the United States from 1974 until 1980. After the completion of his post, Qabbani returned to Syria and resumed his activities as director of the US desk at the foreign ministry until 1982. Upon Qabbani's retirement from the Foreign Ministry in 1982, he began devoting his time to writing and photography.

Personal life

Qabbani was born in the Syrian 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 = , ...

to a middle class merchant family. He was raised in Mi'thnah Al-Shahm, one of the neighborhoods of old Damascus. Sabah Qabbani's father, Tawfiq Qabbani was a prominent merchant and a member of the National Bloc during the Syrian Mandate years. His mother, ''Faiza Akbik'', was of Turkish descent. In 1956, he was married to Maha Naamani, the niece of

Said al-Ghazzi Said Al-Ghazzi ( ar, سعيد الغزي; 11 June 1893 ‎ – 18 September 1967) was a Syrian lawyer, politician and two time prime minister of Syria. He was born in Damascus. Early life Said belonged to the prominent al-Ghazzi family, wh ...

, former Prime Minister of Syria. He is a brother of the Syrian poet

Nizar Qabbani Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani ( ar, نزار توفيق قباني, , french: Nizar Kabbani; 21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian diplomat, poet, writer and publisher. He is considered to be Syria's National Poet. His poetic style combines simp ...

, and the father of the writer

Rana Kabbani Rana Kabbani ( ar, رنا قباني; born 1958) is a British Syrian cultural historian, writer and broadcaster who lives in London. Most famous for her works ''Imperial Fictions: Europe's Myths of the Orient'' (1994) and ''Letter to Christendom ...

. Qabbani's great uncle,

Abu Khalil Qabbani Abu Khalil Qabbani ( ar, أبو خليل القباني / ALA-LC: ''Abū Khalīl al-Qabbānī''; 1835–1902) was a Syrian playwright and composer of Turkish origin. He is considered to be the founder of the short musical play (similar to an operet ...

, was one of the leading innovators in

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

dramatic literature. Qabbani died on January 1, 2015, at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qabbani, Sabah 1928 births 2015 deaths Syrian people of Turkish descent Ambassadors of Syria to the United States Ambassadors of Syria to Indonesia Damascus University alumni People from Damascus Paris-Sorbonne University alumni Qabbani family