The Arab Socialist Baʿth Party was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bīṭār, and associates of Zakī al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused Baʿathism, which is an ideology mixing Arab nationalist, pan-Arab, Arab socialist, and anti-imperialist interests. Baʿthism calls for unification of the Arab world into a single state. Its motto, "Unity, Liberty, Socialism", refers to Arab unity, and freedom from non-Arab control and interference.
ʿAbd al-Salam Mohammed ʿArif al-Jumayli was the second president of Iraq from 1963 until his death in a plane crash in 1966. He played a leading role in the 14 July Revolution, in which the Hashemite monarchy was overthrown on 14 July 1958.
Michel Aflaq was a Syrian philosopher, sociologist and Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Ba'athism and its political movement; he is considered by several Ba'athists to be the principal founder of Ba'athist thought. He published various books during his lifetime, the most notable being The Battle for One Destiny (1958) and The Struggle Against Distorting the Movement of Arab Revolution (1975).
Salah al-Din al-Bitar was a Syrian politician who co-founded the Arab Baʿth Party with Michel Aflaq in the early 1940s. As students in Paris in the early 1930s, the two formulated a doctrine that combined aspects of nationalism and socialism. Bitar later served as prime minister in several early Ba'athist governments in Syria but became alienated from the party as it grew more radical. In 1966 he fled the country, lived mostly in Europe and remained politically active until he was assassinated in Paris in 1980 by unidentified hitmen linked to the regime of Hafez al-Assad.
Akram Al-Hourani, was a Syrian politician who played a prominent role during the democratic era of Syria in the 1950s, he established and led the Arab Socialist Party. He was a highly influential figure in the Syrian politics from the beginning of the 1940s until his departure into exile in 1963, during this period he was able to introduce significant reforms towards more just and fairer society especially in relation to the agricultural sector and land redistribution against the feudal system. Al-Hourani held various positions as a member of the Syrian parliament, the head of the parliament, minister of agriculture, minister of defence, and the vice-president of the United Arab Republic. He is the grandfather of Akram Al-Hourani, a lecturer and researcher in wireless network engineering and signal processing at RMIT University in Australia.
Zuheir Mohsen was a Palestinian leader of the pro-Syria As-Sa'iqa Ba'athist faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) between 1971 and 1979.
The 1966 Syrian coup d'état refers to events between 21 and 23 February during which the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was overthrown and replaced. The ruling National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party were removed from power by a union of the party's Military Committee and the Regional Command, under the leadership of Salah Jadid.
The 1963 Syrian coup d'état, referred to by the Syrian government as the 8 March Revolution, was the seizure of power in Syria by the military committee of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The planning and the unfolding conspiracy of the Syrian Ba'athist operatives were prompted by the Ba'ath party's seizure of power in Iraq in February 1963.
Al-Mabda' was a communist daily newspaper published from Baghdad, Iraq. The paper was founded by the dissident communist politician Daud as-Sayegh. The first issue of Al-Mabda' was published on 21 November 1959. The newspaper was allegedly supported by the government of Abd al-Karim Qasim. According to Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the Qassim government had issued a substantial loan to as-Sayegh for the sake of publishing al-Mabda'.
The Iraqi Communist Party of Daud as-Sayegh was a short-lived political party in Iraq, which existed parallel to the main Iraqi Communist Party. It emerged in 1960, after the enactment of the Associations Law. Daud as-Sayegh was the chairman of the party. The party published the daily newspaper al-Mabda'.
Abdullah Rimawi was the head of the Ba'ath Party in Jordan in the 1950s. He served as Foreign Affairs Minister in Suleiman Nabulsi's government in 1957. A staunch pan-Arabist, Rimawi became one of the most vocal opponents of the Hashemite ruling family in Jordan and favored union with Syria. He fled Jordan in 1957 as the result of a crisis between the leftist government he was a part of and the royal family. He based himself in the United Arab Republic, where he drew closer to UAR President Gamal Abdel Nasser provoking his expulsion from the Ba'ath Party—which was at odds with Nasser—in 1959. Soon after he founded a splinter party called the Arab Socialist Revolutionary Ba'ath Party. During his exile, he allegedly made a number of attempts to attack or undermine the Jordanian monarchy.
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, also referred to as the pro-Iraqi Ba'ath movement, is a neo-Ba'athist political party which was headquartered in Baghdad, Iraq, until 2003. It is one of two parties which emerged from the 1966 split of the original Ba'ath Party.
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, also referred to as the pro-Syrian Ba'ath movement, is a neo-Ba'athist political party with branches across the Arab world. The party emerged from a split in the Ba'ath Party in February 1966 and leads the government in Syria. From 1970 until 2000, the party was led by the Syrian president and Secretary General Hafez al-Assad. Until October 2018, leadership has been shared between his son Bashar al-Assad and Abdullah al-Ahmar. In 2017, after the reunification of the National and Regional Command, Bashar al-Assad became the Secretary General of the Central Command. The Syrian branch of the Party is the largest organisation within the Syrian-led Ba'ath Party.
The Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (JASBP), previously known as the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Jordan Region is a political party in Jordan. It is the Jordanian regional branch of the Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party.
Fuad al-Rikabi was an Iraqi politician and a founder of the Iraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Al-Rikabi became the Secretary of Iraqi Regional Command of the Ba'ath Party in 1954 and held the post until 1959. Throughout his term of leadership, the Iraqi Regional Branch expanded its membership and became a leading party in Iraq's political landscape. Following the 14 July Revolution of 1958 which toppled the monarchy, al-Rikabi was appointed Minister of Development in Abd al-Karim Qasim's unity government.
Munif al-Razzaz was a Jordanian-Syrian physician and politician who was the second, and last, Secretary General of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, having been elected to the post at the 8th National Congress held in April 1965.
Mansur al-Atrash was a Syrian politician and journalist. Together with fellow university students, Atrash became a founding member of the Ba'ath Party and its Syrian regional branch in 1947. During the presidency of Adib Shishakli (1951–54), he became an anti-government activist and was imprisoned twice, only to be released in an unsuccessful attempt by Shishakli to gain the support of Atrash's father, Sultan. In the year Shishakli was overthrown, Atrash was elected to parliament and turned down an offer to serve in Said al-Ghazzi's government. During the period of the United Arab Republic (1958–61), Atrash became a strong supporter of Egyptian president and pan-Arab leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. He opposed Syria's secession from the UAR and turned down offers to serve in successive separatist governments in protest.
Sami al-Jundi was a Syrian Ba'athist politician, and a follower of Michel Aflaq.
Hani al-Hindi (1927–2016) was a Syrian politician and activist. He co-founded the Arab Nationalist Movement with George Habash and served in the cabinet of Salah al-Din al-Bitar in 1963.
This article details the history of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from its founding in 1947 to its dissolution in the 1960s.
