The Central Syrian Committee () was an organization active during after World War I, seeking the independence and the unity of Syria. It lobbied for an autonomous and indivisible Syria extending from the

Taurus mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

to the

Isthmus of Suez The Isthmus of Suez is the land bridge"Suez Canal."< ...

, and from the Mediterranean to the banks of the Euphrates and beyond. The movement did not consider

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

as a separate political entity.

At the Versailles Peace Conference

The Syrian Delegation met with the Supreme Council of the

Versailles Peace Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines Department of Île-de-France region in France. The palace is owned by the government of F ...

on February 13, 1919. The council consisted of

Arthur James Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the Lloyd George min ...

and

Viscount Milner A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is so ...

representing the British Empire, President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

and

Robert Lansing Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 42nd United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson from 1915 to 1920. As Counselor to the State Department and then a ...

of the United States, French prime minister

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...

and French Foreign Affairs Minister

Stephen Pichon Stephen Jean-Marie Pichon (10 August 1857 – 18 September 1933, Vers-en-Montagne) was a French journalist, diplomat and politician of the Third Republic. The Avenue Stéphen-Pichon in Paris is named after him. Life Stephen Jean-Marie Pichon ...

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (; 19 May 1860 – 1 December 1952) was an Italian statesman, who served as the prime minister of Italy from October 1917 to June 1919. Orlando is best known for representing Italy in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference with ...

and Sydney Sonnino for Italy, and

Matsui Keishirō Baron was a Japanese statesman and diplomat. Early life Matsui was a native of Osaka Prefecture, and a graduate of the Law School of Tokyo Imperial University in 1889. He entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan), Ministry of Foreign Affa ...

for Japan. The Syrian delegation members were Chekri Ganem, the Central Syrian Committee's top representative, Anis Schehade,

Jamil Mardam Bey Jamil Mardam Bey (; ; 1895–1960), was a Syrian politician. He was born in Damascus to a prominent aristocratic family of Turkish origins. He is a descendant of the Ottoman general, statesman and Grand Vizier Lala Mustafa Pasha and the penulti ...

Georges Samné Georges Samné (also Georges Samneh ; May 15, 1877 – December 9, 1938) was a Syrian nationalist Francophone medical doctor, intellectual, French colonial publicist, and writer. In 1917, he co-founded the '' Comité Central Syrien'' together wi ...

At the Versailles Peace Conference

Notes

References

Citations

Sources