National Party (Syria)

For other uses, see Al-Watan Party.

The National Party (Arabic: الحزب الوطني al-Ḥizb al-Waṭanī; French: Parti National) was a Syrian political party founded in 1947, eventually dissolving in 1963, after the Syrian Ba'ath Party established one-party rule in Syria in a coup d'état. It grew out of the National Bloc, which opposed the Ottomans in Syria, and later demanded independence from the French mandate. The party saw the greatest support among the Damascene old guard and industrialists. It supported closer ties with the Arab countries and territories to Syria's south, mainly Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Mandatory Palestine, although it began supporting Hashemite-ruled Iraq and Jordan starting in 1949 amongst growing public support. While the dominant party in 1940s and early 1950s, it was replaced by its rival, the People's Party, thereafter. Similar to the People's Party, the National Party was also supported by landowners and landlords.

National Party حزب الوطني
Leader	Shukri al-Quwatli
Founded	1947
Dissolved	1963 (1963)
Preceded by	National Bloc
Headquarters	Damascus
Ideology	Syrian nationalism Arab nationalism[1][2][3] Pan-Arabism Liberal nationalism Pro-Eastern Bloc[4][5] Conservatism[6] National conservatism Republicanism
Political position	Centre-right
Politics of Syria Political parties Elections

In 1936, leaders of the National Bloc (Hashim al-Atassi, Saadallah al-Jabiri, Lutfi al-Haffar, Jamil Mardam Bey, Shukri al-Quwatli, Nasib al-Bakri, Ibrahim Hananu, Sultan Basha al-Atrash, Faris al-Khoury, Saleh al-Ali, Faisal Najib, Honorary Sami Al Baroudi and Mohamed Alomar) sent a delegation to France demanding independence. The delegation was headed by Hashim Atassi and included Saadallah al-Jabiri, Faris al-Khoury, Jamil Mardam Bey, Ministers Odmon Humusi and Amir Naim Mustafa al-Shihabi with Antioch as General Secretary.

A new political movement with the same name, but no direct connection to the historical National Party, was established in 2005 in support of the Bashar Al-Assad regime. The party grew in popularity because of increased use of internet communication.

References

1. Bidwell 2012, p. 300.
2. Moubayed 2006, p. 161.
3. Perry 1997, p. 233.
4. Moubayed 2013, p. 153.
5. Yaqub 2004, p. 149.
6. Tucker 2010, p. 1194.

Bibliography

• Moubayed, Sami M. (2013), Syria and the USA: Washington's Relations with Damascus from Wilson to Eisenhower, I.B.Tauris, ISBN 978-1-7807-6768-0
• Bidwell, Robin (2012), Dictionary Of Modern Arab History, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7103-0505-3
• Tucker, Spencer C. (2010), The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, I.B.Tauris, ISBN 978-1-8510-9947-4
• Moubayed, Sami M. (2006), Steel & Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900-2000, Cune Press, ISBN 978-1-8859-4241-8
• Yaqub, Salim (2004), Containing Arab Nationalism: The Eisenhower Doctrine and the Middle East, UNC Press Books, ISBN 978-0-8078-5508-9
• Perry, Glenn E. (1997), The Middle East: Fourteen Islamic Centuries, Prentice Hall, ISBN 978-0-1326-6339-7