Yusuf Yasin (also known as Yousuf Yassin; 1888 – 19 April 1962) was a journalist and politician who served in various capacities during the reign of King Abdulaziz and King Saud. He was among the advisers of King Abdulaziz who were employed to improve the decision-making process of the state. Yasin performed several roles in the Saudi government until 1958 when he was dismissed by

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

Faisal.

Early life and education

Yusuf Yasin was born in

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

, Syria, in 1888. His parents were Fatima bint Abdullah Jamal and Shaikh Mohammad Yasin, and his grandfather was Ali Al Masri, an Egyptian immigrant to Syria. Following religious education in Latakia Yasin graduated from the

University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

in 1911.

Career

Yasin cofounded a weekly nationalist newspaper in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1921. His business associate was Mohammad Kamil Al Budari, and their paper was entitled ''Al Sabah''. Yasin settled in Saudi Arabia in 1923 or in 1924. Shukri Al Quwatli, future

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, to ...

, was instrumental in Yasin's migration to the country. Yasin intended to work as a teacher for the sons of King Abdulaziz. Soon after his arrival he became the head of the political section of the royal court and private secretary to the King. In 1925 Yasin contributed to the establishment of a weekly paper in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

, '' Umm Al Qura'', of which he became the first

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

. The paper soon functioned as the official gazette of the country. In 1926 he was made the political secretary of King Abdulaziz and then, appointed an adviser to him in the 1930s. On 29 December 1930 Yasin became a Saudi citizen. He suggested the addition of the phrase ''al-Sa’udiyyah'' to the name of the country, ''Al-Mamlakah al-'Arabiyyah al-Sa’udiyyah'', known as Saudi Arabia, in 1932. In 1937 he was part of the Saudi delegation who visited

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to attend the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

. The same year while officially visiting Baghdad, Iraq, upon the request of King Abdulaziz Yasin attempted to contact with a German arms company owned by

Otto Wolff Otto Wolff AG was a German steelmaker founded in Cologne by the industrialists Otto Wolff and Ottmar E. Strauß in 1904. One of the largest businesses in pre-war Germany, it exists today as an independent subsidiary of the ThyssenKrupp group. His ...

to buy rifles. During the same visit Yasin met with

Fritz Grobba Fritz Konrad Ferdinand Grobba (18 July 1886 – 2 September 1973) was a German diplomat during the interwar period and World War II. Early life He was born in Gartz on the Oder in the Province of Brandenburg, Germany. His parents were Rudolf Grob ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's ambassador to Iraq. Yasin signed the extradition treaty between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on behalf of the latter that established the Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone in 1942. He accompanied King Abdulaziz in his meeting with

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on 14 February 1945. Yasin signed a treaty of amity on behalf of Saudi Arabia with the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

on 15 November 1946. Yasin replaced

Fuad Hamza Fuad Hamza, also known as Fuad Bey Hamza, (1899–1951) was a Palestinian who served as Saudi ambassador to France and the United States and as King Abdulaziz's adviser and representative. Hafiz Wahba and he were the first ambassadors of Saudi Ar ...

as deputy foreign minister in 1951 when Hamza died. Between 1952 and 1955 Yasin was responsible for Saudi activities in the

Buraimi Oasis ar, وَاحَة ٱلْبُرَيْمِي, Wāḥat Al-Buraymī , native_name_lang = ar , image_skyline = Mezyad Fort.jpg , image_caption = Mezyad Fort in Al Ain (UAE), with Jebel Hafeet, which is partially in the Omani Governorate ...

and was a member of the Buraimi Arbitration Tribunal. Following the death of King Abdulaziz, Yasin served as the state minister and the advisor to King Saud, successor of the king. It was Yusuf Yasin who made an inauguration speech at the meeting of the council of ministers in the

Murabba Palace The Murabba Palace (Arabic: Qasr al Murabba; the Square Palace) is one of the historic buildings in Al Murabba, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The palace is the first building that was erected outside the walls of the old city. It was named after its squa ...

on 7 March 1954. On 15 May 1958 Yasin was removed from the post by Crown Prince Faisal.

Views

Yasin had a

pan-Arab Pan-Arabism ( ar, الوحدة العربية or ) is an ideology that espouses the unification of the countries of North Africa and Western Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is referred to as the Arab world. It is closely c ...

stance, and one of his close companions was Rashid Rida, founder and editor of an influential conservative Egyptian publication, '' Al Manar''. In fact, Rida was Yasin's teacher. Yasin was a major opponent of the close relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States, and also, had an anti-British approaches.

Personal life and death

Yasin married twice and had eight children, five sons and three daughters. One of his sons, Anas Yasin, was Saudi ambassador to the United Nations, India, and Turkey. His other son, Hassan Yasin, was the advisor to the former Saudi foreign minister Saud bin Faisal Al Saud. Yusuf Yasin died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

in Dhahran on 19 April 1962.

Legacy

Joseph A. Kechichian Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

wrote a book about Yusuf Yasin: ''The Arab Nationalist Advisor. Shaykh Yusuf Yassin of Sa’udi Arabia'', which was released in December 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasin, Yusuf 20th-century newspaper founders

Yasin Yasin, Yassin, Yassine, Yacine or Yaseen may refer to: People * Yasin (name), an Arabic-based name * Yassin (name), an Arabic-based name * Yassine (name), an Arabic-based name * Yacine (name), an Arabic-based name * Yaşın (name), a Turkish-based ...

1888 births 1962 deaths Government ministers of Saudi Arabia

People from Latakia