The 1954 Syrian coup d'état took place in February of that year to overthrow the government of

Adib Shishakli Adib al-Shishakli (1909 – 27 September 1964 ar, أديب الشيشكلي, ʾAdīb aš-Šīšaklī) was a Syrian military leader and President of Syria from 1953 to 1954. Early life Adib Shishakli was born (1909) in the Hama Sanjak of Ott ...

. Leading the anti-Shishakli movement were former President

Atassi Atassi, also spelled Atassi ( ar, الأتاسي) ( tr, Atasi/ Atasizade) is the name of a prominent family in Homs, Syria, of a noble and ancient lineage, dating back to the 15th century AD. More recently, members of the family lead the national ...

and the veteran Druze leader Sultan al-Atrash.

Background

Colonel

came to power by a coup in December 1951, forming a military autocracy.''The Middle East and North Africa''. Europa Publications Limited, Volume 50: p.1018. As the leader of Syria,

recognized the desires of Syria's

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

majority, and accordingly adopted a policy of pan-Arabism. He clashed frequently with the independent-minded Druze minority on the Jabal Druze mountain, accusing them of wanting to topple his government using funds from Jordan, and in 1954 resorted to shelling Druze strongholds to put down resistance to his rule.

Overthrow of Shishakli

Growing discontent eventually led to a coup, in which Shishakli was overthrown in February 1954. The plotters included members of the Syrian Communist Party, Druze officers, Ba'ath Party members, and possibly had Iraqi backing. He had also arrested many active officers in the Syrian Army, including the rising young

Adnan al-Malki Adnan al-Malki ( ar, عدنان المالكي‎) (1918 – 22 April 1955) was a Syrian Army officer and political figure in the mid-20th century. He served as the deputy-chief of staff of the army and was one of the most powerful figures ...

, also a prominent Baathist. Leading the anti-Shishakli movement were former President

and the veteran Druze leader Sultan al-Atrash. The largest anti-Shishakli conference had been held in Atassi's home in Homs. Shishakli had responded by arresting Atassi and

Atrash The al-Atrash ( ar, الأطرش‎ ), also known as Bani al-Atrash, is a Druze clan based in Jabal Hauran in southwestern Syria. The family's name ''al-atrash'' is Arabic for "the deaf" and derives from one the family's deaf patriarchs. The ...

's sons, Adnan and Mansur (both of whom were ranking politicians in Syria). When the insurgency reached its peak, Shishakli backed down, refusing to drag Syria into civil war. He fled to

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 ...

, but when the Druze leader

Kamal Jumblat Kamal Fouad Jumblatt ( ar, كمال فؤاد جنبلاط; 6 December 1917 – 16 March 1977) was a Lebanese politician who founded the Progressive Socialist Party. He led the National Movement during the civil war against the Lebanese Front. H ...

threatened to have him killed, he fled to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Aftermath

After the overthrow of President Shishakli in 1954 coup, he continued political maneuvering supported by competing factions in the military eventually brought Arab nationalist and socialist elements to power. The early years of independence were marked by political instability. Prior to the

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

between Syria and Egypt in 1958,

Shishakli The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel ''Dune (novel), Dune'', the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis (also known as Dune), which ...

toyed with the idea of returning to Syria to launch a coup d'état, using funds provided by Iraq. The coup was foiled by Syrian intelligence and Shishakli was sentenced to death ''in absentia''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1954 Syrian coup d'etat Military coups in Syria Syria Conflicts in 1954 1954 in Syria Ba'athism Arab nationalism in Syria Arab nationalist rebellions Arab rebellions in Syria History of the Ba'ath Party

Background

Overthrow of Shishakli

Aftermath

See also

References