Shiblī Yousef Hamad al-Aysamī ( ar, شبلي العيسمي), alternatively also ''Shibli-L-Aʾysami'', ''al-Ayasami'', ''al-Ayssami'' or ''al-ʿAisamī'', (5 February 1925 – June 4, 2011) Druze-Syrian politician and Arab nationalist figure. He was born to a Druze family in

al-Suwayda As-Suwayda ( ar, ٱلسُّوَيْدَاء / ALA-LC romanization: ''as-Suwaydāʾ''), also spelled ''Sweida'' or ''Swaida'', is a mainly Druze city located in southwestern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of As-Suwayda ...

, Syria. He was kidnapped by unknown persons in

Aley Aley ( ar, عاليه) is a major city in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Aley District and fourth largest city in Lebanon. The city is located on Mount Lebanon, 15 km uphill from Beirut on the freeway to Damascus. Aley has the nick ...

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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and is presumed to be dead.

Political career

Syria

In 1947, together with

Michel Aflaq Michel Aflaq ( ar, ميشيل عفلق, Mīšīl ʿAflaq‎, , 9 January 1910 – 23 June 1989) was a Syrian philosopher, sociologist and Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Ba'athism and its politic ...

, he became a founding member of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and from 1963 to 1964 he held different ministerial posts in the Syrian government. In 1964 he was elected as General Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the Ba'ath Party and in 1965 he became

Vice President of Syria The Vice President of Syria ( ar, نائب رئيس سوريا) is a political position in Syria. The Constitution states that in the case of the president's temporary disablement, the vice president may become acting president. Multiple people ...

under

Amin al-Hafiz Amin al-Hafiz ( ar, أمين الحافظ, Amīn al-Ḥāfiẓ12 November 1921 – 17 December 2009), also known as Amin Hafez was a Syrian politician, general, and member of the Ba'ath Party who served as the President of Syria from 27 Jul ...

Iraq

Duri, Hussein, Aysami and Ramadhan during Aflaq funeral

Following the 1966 Syrian coup d'état which resulted in President

al-Hafiz Abūʾl-Maymūn ʿAbd al-Majīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Mustanṣir, better known by his regnal name as al-Ḥāfiẓ li-Dīn Allāh ( ar, الحافظ لدين الله, , Keeper of God's Religion), was the eleventh Fatimid caliph, ruling over Egyp ...

being overthrown and the creation of the Syrian-Iraqi rift, al-Aysami, then Vice President of Syria, fled to Iraq. In 1974 the Iraqi Branch of the Ba'ath Party installed a rival

National Command of the Ba'ath Party The National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was the ruling organ of the party between sessions of the National Congress, and was headed by a Secretary General. Between National Congresses, the National Command was held accountable by t ...

with Michel Aflaq as General Secretary and al-Aysami as his deputy (until 1979). In 1982 al-Hafiz and al-Aysami, together with Islamist, nationalist and leftist opposition groups founded the Iraqi-backed

National Alliance for the Liberation of Syria The National Alliance for the Liberation of Syria ( ar, التحالف الوطني لتحرير سورية, ''al-Taḥālluf al-waṭanī li-taḥrīr Sūriya'') was a coalition of Syrian opposition groups, supported by the Iraqi government. Th ...

, but in 1992 al-Aysami retired from political life. He remained in Iraq until the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

and fled to

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 Mediter ...

, then the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

thereafter.

Kidnapping

On 4 June 2011, during a visit to Lebanon, al-Aysami was kidnapped by unknown militants and is presumed dead. His family accused the Syrian government of

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 ...

for the kidnapping, after many witnesses came forth with evidence, however the Lebanese government was too weak to take measures against the Syrian government. The Syrian government, however, blamed the Lebanese Druze leader

Walid Jumblatt Walid Kamal Jumblatt ( ar, وليد جنبلاط; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese Druze politician and former militia commander who has been leading the Progressive Socialist Party since 1977. While leading the Lebanese National Resistance Fr ...

Personal life

He was the great uncle of

Tareck El Aissami Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; ar, طارق زيدان العيسمي مداح; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Minister of Petroleum sin ...

, the former

Vice President of Venezuela The vice president of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente de Venezuela), officially known as the Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente Ejecutivo de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the second ...

Bibliography

* ''Muhafazat al-Suwayad'' (1962) * ''La révolution arabe'' (1971) * ''Arab Unity through experience'' (Beirut, 1971) * ''Unity, Freedom, Socialism'' (Madrid, 1976) * ''Arabische Sozialistische Ba'th Partei: Die Gründungsperiode in den vierziger Jahren'' (Varese, 1977)

References

External links

*
''Where is Shibli al-Ayssami?''''Shibli al-Ayssami is in Syria, son says''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aysami, Shibli al- 1925 births 2010s missing person cases 2011 deaths Syrian Druze Kidnapped politicians Kidnapped Syrian people Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region Members of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party Missing people Missing person cases in Lebanon Syrian anti-communists Syrian Arab nationalists Syrian expatriates in Iraq Vice presidents of Syria