Shiblī Yousef Hamad al-Aysamī ( ar, شبلي العيسمي), alternatively also ''Shibli-L-Aʾysami'', ''al-Ayasami'', ''al-Ayssami'' or ''al-ʿAisamī'', (5 February 1925 – June 4, 2011) Druze-Syrian politician and Arab nationalist figure. He was born to a

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings o ...

family in al-Suwayda, Syria. He was kidnapped by unknown persons in Aley,

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 ...

and is presumed to be dead.

Political career

Syria

In 1947, together with

Michel Aflaq Michel Aflaq ( ar, ميشيل عفلق, Mīšīl ʿAflaq‎, , 9 January 1910 – 23 June 1989) was a Syrian philosopher, sociology, sociologist and Arab nationalism, Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development o ...

, he became a founding member of the

Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...

and from 1963 to 1964 he held different ministerial posts in the Syrian government. In 1964 he was elected as General Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the Ba'ath Party and in 1965 he became Vice President of Syria under

Amin al-Hafiz Amin al-Hafiz ( ar, أمين الحافظ, Amīn al-Ḥāfiẓ12 November 1921 – 17 December 2009), also known as Amin Hafez was a Syrian politician, general, and member of the Ba'ath Party who served as the President of Syria from 27 Jul ...

Iraq

Duri, Hussein, Aysami and Ramadhan during Aflaq funeral

Following the

1966 Syrian coup d'état 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 ...

which resulted in President al-Hafiz being overthrown and the creation of the Syrian-Iraqi rift, al-Aysami, then Vice President of Syria, fled to Iraq. In 1974 the Iraqi Branch of the Ba'ath Party installed a rival National Command of the Ba'ath Party with Michel Aflaq as General Secretary and al-Aysami as his deputy (until 1979). In 1982 al-Hafiz and al-Aysami, together with Islamist, nationalist and leftist opposition groups founded the Iraqi-backed National Alliance for the Liberation of Syria, but in 1992 al-Aysami retired from political life. He remained in Iraq until the 2003 invasion of Iraq and fled to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, then the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...

thereafter.

Kidnapping

On 4 June 2011, during a visit to Lebanon, al-Aysami was kidnapped by unknown militants and is presumed dead. His family accused the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad for the kidnapping, after many witnesses came forth with evidence, however the Lebanese government was too weak to take measures against the Syrian government. The Syrian government, however, blamed the Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

Personal life

He was the great uncle of Tareck El Aissami, the former

Vice President of Venezuela The vice president of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente de Venezuela), officially known as the Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente Ejecutivo de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the second ...

Bibliography

* ''Muhafazat al-Suwayad'' (1962) * ''La révolution arabe'' (1971) * ''Arab Unity through experience'' (Beirut, 1971) * ''Unity, Freedom, Socialism'' (Madrid, 1976) * ''Arabische Sozialistische Ba'th Partei: Die Gründungsperiode in den vierziger Jahren'' (Varese, 1977)

References

External links

*
''Where is Shibli al-Ayssami?''''Shibli al-Ayssami is in Syria, son says''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aysami, Shibli al- 1925 births 2010s missing person cases 2011 deaths Syrian Druze Kidnapped politicians Kidnapped Syrian people Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region Members of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party Missing people Missing person cases in Lebanon Syrian anti-communists Syrian Arab nationalists Syrian expatriates in Iraq Vice presidents of Syria