George Sabra ( ar, جورج صبرة, born 11 July 1947) is a member of the Syrian Democratic People's Party. He was elected president of the

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al-Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil national syrien), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syria ...

, the main opposition group in Syria, on 9 November 2012 and later was acting president of the

National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية), commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) ( ar, الائتلاف الو ...

from 22 April – 6 July 2013. He resigned from the National Coalition on 25 April 2018. Sabra is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Early life and education

Sabra was born to a Christian family in the city of

Qatana Qatana ( ar, قَطَنَا, Qaţanā) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Qatana District of Rif Dimashq Governorate. Qatana has an altitude of 879 meters. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had ...

Rif Dimashq Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate ( ar, محافظة ريف دمشق, ', literally, the "Governorate of the Countryside of Damascus", Damascus Suburb) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the ...

on 11 July 1947. He graduated with a geography degree 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 1971 and a degree in

educational technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refe ...

systems from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

in 1978. He since became a geography teacher, as well as a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He is one of the writers for the Arabic version, '' Iftah Ya Simsim'', of the children's show ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

''.

Political career

Sabra has been politically active in the

Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian gover ...

movement since the 1970s. He joined the Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau) in 1970 and was elected to its Central Committee in 1985. He was arrested in 1987 during one of many government crackdowns on the party and imprisoned for eight years. A few years after his release, in 2000, he was assigned to represent his party in the National Democratic Rally, a coalition of leftist parties that was originally formed in 1979, and he was subsequently elected to the rally's Central Committee. After the death of President

Hafez al-Assad 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 1 ...

, his son,

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 ...

allowed a brief toleration of opposition that was known as the Damascus Spring. Sabra was one of 250 people who signed the

Damascus Declaration The Damascus Declaration ( ar, إعلان دمشق) was a statement of unity by Syrian opposition figures issued in October 2005. It criticized the Syrian government of the Assad dynasty as "authoritarian, totalitarian and cliquish," and called ...

in 2005, which called for peaceful reform in Syria. Sabra was arrested on 10 April 2011. He was arrested again on 20 July 2011 and was released two months later, having been held incommunicado. He left Syria in January 2012 to join the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

-based

. Almost immediately he unsuccessfully challenged

Burhan Ghalioun Burhan Ghalioun ( ar, برهان غليون, Burhān Ghalyūn; born 11 February 1945 in Homs, Syria) is a French-Syrian professor of sociology at the Université de Paris III Sorbonne University in Paris, and the first chairman of the Syrian op ...

for the leadership of the SNC. He stood again in April, when he received 11 out of 40 votes against Ghalioun's 21 votes. Ghalioun Elected Chief of Syrian Opposition Coalition
''

Naharnet Naharnet is one of the first Lebanese online media after ''An Nahar'' newspaper was online in September 1995. It was launched in September 2000. At its initial phase it was a portal and virtual community for Lebanese and Arabs everywhere.

'', 15 May 2012 On 22 April 2013, president of the

Moaz al-Khatib Ahmad Moaz Al-Khatib Al-Hasani ( ar, أحمد معاذ الخطيب الحسني, born 1960) is a former president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. He is also a former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascu ...

resigned in protest of the lack of international aid to the Syrian opposition by the

Friends of Syria Group The Group of Friends of the Syrian People (sometimes Friends of Syria Group, Friends of the Syrian People Group, Friends of Democratic Syria or simply Friends of Syria) is an international diplomatic collective of countries and bodies convening p ...

. George Sabra was then appointed as Khatib's successor.Syria opposition names interim leader, www.aljazeera.com, retrieved: April 23, 2013
/ref> On 25 April 2018, George Sabra, along with former SNC vice president Suheir Atassi and president

Khaled Khoja Khaled Khoja ( ar, خالد خوجة, tr, Halid Hoca, born 4 July 1965) is a Syrian- Turkish politician. He was the president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from 2015 to 2016. He was born to a Turkish ...

, resigned from the Syrian National Coalition. Sabra said that the SNC is "no longer devoted to the principles of the revolution and the goals of the yrianpeople".

References

External links

Syrian National Council profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabra, George 1947 births Damascus University alumni Indiana University alumni Living people People from Rif Dimashq Governorate Syrian National Council members Greek Orthodox Christians from Syria Arab Christians Former National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces members