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The March 1949 Syrian coup d'état was a bloodless
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
that took place on 30 March. It was the first military coup in modern Syrian history and overthrew the country's democratically-elected government. It was led by the Syrian Army
chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
, Husni al-Za'im, who became
president of Syria The president of Syria (), officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is the head of state and head of government of Syria. The president directs the executive branch and serves as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army and Syrian ...
on 11 April 1949. Among the officers who assisted al-Za'im's takeover were Sami al-Hinnawi and Adib al-Shishakli, both of whom in sequence would later also become military leaders of the country. Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli, was accused of purchasing inferior arms for the Syrian Army and poor leadership. He was briefly imprisoned, but then released into exile in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Syria's legislature, then called the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, was dissolved. al-Za'im also imprisoned many political leaders, such as Munir al-Ajlani, whom he accused of conspiring to overthrow the republic.


Background

As recounted by the British military attaché in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, Husni al-Za'im began plotting a coup two years in advance in March 1947. On March 29, 1949, Za'im provided four of his senior officers with instructions outlining their roles in the coup; the officers were told to wait until midnight to view the instructions, and to do so in complete privacy. The coup commenced at 2:30 a.m. on March 30 and proved to be "a masterpiece of military planning, bloodless apart from the deaths of three bodyguards attached to a government minister." Quwatli, ill with "a gastric ulcer and heart complaint," was arrested in hospital by one of six military units that ferreted through
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
and systematically captured key government buildings. The Syrian national anthem and a message from Za'im announcing the change in government began playing over the radio near dawn.


Political context and allegations of American involvement

There are "highly controversial" allegations that the American legation in Syria, headed by James Hugh Keeley, Jr., and the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) engineered the coup. Assistant military attaché (and undercover CIA officer) Stephen J. Meade, who became intimately acquainted with Colonel Za'im several weeks prior to the coup and was considered Za'im's "principal Western confidant" during Za'im's brief time in power, has been described as the coup's architect, along with the CIA's Damascus station chief, Miles Copeland Jr. Copeland later authored several books with "extraordinarily detailed accounts of CIA operations in, among other countries, Syria, Egypt, and
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
" that are considered "one of the most revelatory set of writings by a former U.S. intelligence officer ever published." However, Copeland's memoirs have a strong literary quality and contain many embellishments, which make it difficult to gauge the historical accuracy of the events that he describes. Moreover, Copeland's account of the Syrian coup in his 1989 autobiography ''The Game Player: Confessions of the CIA's Original Political Operative'' contradicts the earlier version presented in his 1969 ''The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics''. In ''The Game of Nations'', Copeland suggested that Syria, as the first former colony in the Arab world to achieve complete political independence from Europe, was perceived in Washington as a test case for America's "capacity for exerting a democratizing influence on Arab countries." According to Copeland, the CIA attempted to "police" the July 1947 Syrian national elections, which were marred by fraud, sectarianism, and interference by neighboring
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and Transjordan. When the elections "produced a weak, minority government" under Quwatli, the stability of which was called into question by Syria's defeat in the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
, Keeley and other U.S. officials became concerned "that Syria was on the verge of complete collapse," which could have empowered the Syrian Communist Party or other "radicals" (such as the
Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
and the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
). As a result, Keeley became amenable to a military coup "as a way of safeguarding ... the long-term prospects of democracy in the country." At Keeley's behest, Copeland wrote, Meade "systematically developed a friendship with Za'im ... suggested to him the idea of a ''coup d'état'', advised him how to go about it, and guided him through the intricate preparations in laying the groundwork for it." Available evidence, however, suggests that Za'im was in little need of prodding from the Americans. Per the British military attaché, Za'im had been contemplating a coup since March 1947, over a year before he was introduced to Meade on November 30, 1948. Shortly before the coup, Za'im had tried to win Western sympathy by producing a list of individuals, including Keeley, that were supposedly "communist assassination targets," but American officials were skeptical. While Za'im directly informed Meade of the upcoming coup on March 3 and March 7, the Americans were not the only foreign power to be apprised since Za'im notified British officials around the same time. In his conversations with Meade, Za'im outlined his progressive political program for Syria (including land reform) as well as the communist threat and concluded that there was one "way to start the Syrian people along the road to progress and democracy: With the whip." Za'im struck a different tone in his conversations with the British by citing his desire to establish friendlier ties with Britain's major allies in the area: Iraq and Transjordan. In ''The Game Player'', Copeland provided new details on the American assistance to Za'im's plan and expounded that Meade identified specific installations that had to be captured to ensure the coup's success. However, Copeland also acknowledged that Za'im had initiated the plot on his own: "It was Husni's show all the way." Douglas Little notes that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State George C. McGhee visited Damascus in March, "ostensibly to discuss resettling Palestinian refugees but possibly to authorize U.S. support for Za'im." In contrast, Andrew Rathmell describes this hypothesis as "purely speculative." An overarching US policy objective in Syria at the time was allowing the construction of the
Trans-Arabian Pipeline The Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), was an oil pipeline from Qaisumah in Saudi Arabia to Sidon in Lebanon, active 1950–1976. In its heyday, it was an important factor in the global trade of petroleum, as well as in American–Middle Eastern ...
, which had been held up in the Syrian Parliament. Za'im approved the "Tapline" project on May 16.


Armistice with Israel

Armistice talks with Israel to end hostilities of the 1948 war started in April 1949, after armistice agreements had already been concluded by the other Arab countries. On 20 July 1949, Syria signed the Israel-Syria Armistice Agreement for formally ending hostilities along the border.Israel-Syrian General Armistice Agreement
UN Doc S/1353 20 July 1949
Under the agreement, Syria withdrew its forces from most of the territories of the former Mandate Palestine that it controlled west of the international border, which became a demilitarized zone. In 1948, there were approximately 30,000 Jews in Syria. After the coup, the Za'im administration permitted the emigration of large numbers of Syrian Jews, and 5,000 left for Israel. Syrian Prime Minister
Muhsin al-Barazi Muhsin al-Barazi (; 1904 – 14 August 1949) was a Syrian lawyer, academic and politician. He served a short term as a Prime Minister of Syria in 1949 and was executed after a coup d'état overthrew his government. Early life Al-Barazi, born i ...
was given the task of conducting secret negotiations with Israel for a peace treaty between the two countries and to discuss a possible summit between Za'im and Israeli Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...
. The talks reached advanced levels and Israeli Foreign Minister
Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett (; born Moshe Chertok (); 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was the second prime minister of Israel and the country’s first foreign minister. He signed the Israeli Declaration of Independence and was a principal negotiator in th ...
contacted al-Barazi on 6 August 1949 to discuss a date for formal peace talks.


Rebellion

Za'im inspired rebellion among his officers by betraying Antoun Saadeh, the founder and president of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP). Saadeh had pledged to set up a friendly government in Lebanon, but on 8 July, Za'im abducted Saadeh and handed him over to the Lebanese authorities, who tried him for treason and executed him on the same day.


End of presidency

Za'im's short-lived presidency ended on 14 August 1949 in a military coup staged by Sami al-Hinnawi, along with several other SSNP officers, who promptly executed Za'im and
Muhsin al-Barazi Muhsin al-Barazi (; 1904 – 14 August 1949) was a Syrian lawyer, academic and politician. He served a short term as a Prime Minister of Syria in 1949 and was executed after a coup d'état overthrew his government. Early life Al-Barazi, born i ...
and installed
Hashim al-Atassi Hashim al-Atassi (; 11 January 1875 – 5 December 1960) was a Syrian politician and statesman who served as the President of Syria on three occasions from 1936 to 1939, 1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1955. Background and early career He was bo ...
as president. Another military coup took place in December, the third of that year, this time led by Adib Shishakli, who kept al-Atassi as president until 3 December 1951. al-Hinnawi was murdered on 31 October 1950 by Hersho al-Barazi, a cousin of
Muhsin al-Barazi Muhsin al-Barazi (; 1904 – 14 August 1949) was a Syrian lawyer, academic and politician. He served a short term as a Prime Minister of Syria in 1949 and was executed after a coup d'état overthrew his government. Early life Al-Barazi, born i ...
.


See also

* 1954 Syrian coup d'état *
1963 Syrian coup d'état The 1963 Syrian coup d'état, labelled in Ba'athist historiography as the "March 8 Revolution" (), was the seizure of power in Syrian Republic (1946-63), Syria by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region#Military Bureau, military commi ...
* 1966 Syrian coup d'état * CIA activities in Syria


Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1949 03 Syrian coup d'etat Conflicts in 1949 1949 in Syria Syrian Social Nationalist Party 1949 3 1940s coups d'état and coup attempts Syria–United States relations