The Syrian Federation (; ), officially the Federation of the Autonomous States of Syria (), was constituted on 28 June 1922 by High Commissary Gouraud. It comprised the States of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, and of the Alawites, spanning an area of 119,000 to 120,000 km². It was officially dissolved by decree of 5 December 1924 "which received its application starting on 1 January 1925".

History

The Syrian Federation was founded on 28 June 1922 as a result of Decree 1459 from the

High Commissioner of the Levant The high commissioner of France in the Levant (; ), named after 1941 the general delegate of Free France in the Levant (), was the highest ranking authority representing France (and Free France during World War II) in the Mandate for Syria and t ...

, Henri Gouraud. It comprised the states of

, and the Alawites, spanning an area of 119,000 to 120,000 km². The federation's government consisted of the President of the Federation and the Federal Council, which initially alternated between sitting in

and

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

was also considered a potential capital city. The first session of the Federal Council opened in Aleppo on 28 June 1922 with a speech from Gouraud. On 8 January 1923 Damascus became the permanent seat of government, creating divisions in the country's political leadership. The Syrian Federation's only president was Subhi Bey Barakat, who claimed in his first three presidential decrees to have been elected by the Federal Council on 29 June, 1922. However, according to Syrian historian and jurist Edmond Rabbath, Barakat was in fact "ineligible in the year following the end of his presidency" and therefore "appointed and not elected." Barakat was nevertheless formally elected president by the Federal Council on 17 December 1923. The Syrian Federation was officially dissolved by Decree 2980, which was issued on 5 December 1924 by High Commissioner

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II, as well as a high ranking member of the Vichy France, Vichy regime. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educate ...

and took effect on 1 January 1925. The decree merged the states of Aleppo and Damascus into the

State of Syria The State of Syria (, ') was a French Mandate state created by decree of 5 December 1924, with effect from 1 January 1925, from the union of the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus. It was the successor of the Syrian Federation (1922� ...

and named Barakat president of the new country.

Government

The President of the Federation was elected by an

absolute majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the " Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a gr ...

of the Federal Council and held office for a term of one year. Afterwards, the president would be ineligible for re-election for one year following their departure from office. They exercised executive powers such as the preparation of the federal budget, the nomination of government officials and the negotiation of treaties with non-federated states, all subject to the ratification of the High Commissariat of the Levant. The Federal Council was a deliberative body composed of five representatives. It studied proposals leading to the adoption of legislation and dealt with economic affairs, such as

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{refend 1920s in Mandatory Syria States and territories established in 1922 States and territories disestablished in 1925