Shiblī Yousef Hamad al-Aysamī (), alternatively also ''Shibli-L-Aʾysami'', ''al-Ayasami'', ''al-Ayssami'' or ''al-ʿAisamī'', (5 February 1925 – June 4, 2011) was a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

politician and Arab nationalist figure. He was born to a

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

family in

al-Suwayda Suwayda (), also spelled Sweida, is a mainly Druze city located in southern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Suwayda Governorate, one of Syria's 14 governorates, bordering Jordan in the South, Daraa Governorate ...

, Syria. He was kidnapped by unknown persons in Aley,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and is presumed to be dead.

Political career

Syria

He was born to a Syrian Druze family. In 1947, together with

Michel Aflaq Michel Aflaq (‎, ; 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 of Ba'athism and its political movement; he ...

, he became a founding member of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party 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 The vice president of Syria (), officially the vice president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is a political position in Syria. The Constitution of Syria states that in the case of the president's temporary disablement, the vice president may becom ...

under

Amin al-Hafiz Amin may refer to: People * Amin (name), a masculine given name and also a surname * Al-Amin, sixth Abbasid caliph, who ruled from 809 to 813 * Amin (Qing dynasty), Imperial Prince of the Qing Dynasty * Idi Amin (c. 1925–2003), military ruler ...

Iraq

Following the 1966 Syrian coup d'état 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 ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, then the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

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 Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

for the kidnapping, after many witnesses came forth with evidence, however the Lebanese government did not act swiftly against the Syrian government. The Syrian government, however, blamed the Lebanese Druze leader

Walid Jumblatt Walid Kamal Jumblatt (; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese politician who was the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party from 1977 until 2023. A Druze and former militia commander, Jumblatt led the Lebanese National Resistance Front, allying ...

Personal life

He was the great-uncle of

Tareck El Aissami Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah (; born 12 November 1974) is a Venezuelan politician, who served as the vice president of Venezuela from 2017 to 2018. He served as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018, and as Ministe ...

, later

Vice President of Venezuela The vice president of Venezuela (), officially known as the Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (), is the second highest political position in the government of Venezuela. The vice president is the direct collaborato ...

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 people 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 Syrian people Missing person cases in Lebanon Syrian anti-communists Syrian Arab nationalists Syrian expatriates in Iraq Vice presidents of Syria People declared dead in absentia Agriculture ministers of Syria