Husni al-Za'im (11 May 1897 – 14 August 1949; Arabic: حسني الزعيم Ḥusnī az-Za’īm) was a Syrian military officer and politician. Husni al-Za'im, had been an officer in the Ottoman Army. After France instituted its colonial mandate over Syria after the First World War, he became an officer in the French Army. After Syria's independence in 1946 he was made Chief of Staff, and was ordered to lead the Syrian Army into war with the Israeli Army in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The defeat of the Arab league forces in that war shook Syria and undermined confidence in the country's chaotic parliamentary democracy, allowing him to seize power in 1949. However, his reign as head of state would be brief: he was executed within a few months.
Born |
1897 Aleppo, Syria
|
Died |
14 August 1949 (aged 52) Damascus, Syria
|
Zodiac | |
Tags | Add tag |