Editing Hashim al-Atassi (section)

== The French Mandate ==
[[File:Atassi, Husayni, and Arslan in Saudi Arabia.jpg|thumb|left|Al-Atassi (second person seated from the left) in a visit to [[Saudi Arabia]] in the early 1930s wearing a [[Bedouin]] garb. To his left are [[Mohammad Amin al-Husayni]], the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]] and [[Shakib Arslan|Emir Shakib Arslan]], an [[Arab nationalist]] philosopher from [[Lebanon]] ]]

After the dissolution of the Kingdom by the French, Atassi met with a group of notables in October 1927 and founded the National Bloc, which was to lead the Syrian nationalist movement in Syria for the next twenty years. The Bloc was a political coalition movement that sought full independence for Syria through diplomatic rather than violent resistance. It founders were a group of landowners, lawyers, civil servants, and Ottoman-trained professionals from [[Damascus]], [[Aleppo]], Homs, Hama, and [[Lattakia]]. Atassi was elected permanent President of the National Bloc. In 1928, he was also elected President of the [[Constituent Assembly]], and charged with laying out Syria's first republican constitution. The assembly was dissolved by the French high commissioner in May 1930 because of its adherence to the 1920 proclamation, and Atassi was imprisoned by the French for several months at [[Arwad]] Island. After being freed, he renominated himself for the presidency but lost the first round of elections and dropped out of the second, giving his endorsement to the independent [[Mohammad Ali al-Abid]], who became president in the summer of 1932. In 1928 and 1932, he became a deputy for Homs in Parliament.

=== First President of the Republic ===
Atassi initially supported the Abid government but became disenchanted from the new President when Abid appointed two French stooges, [[Haqqi al-Azm]] as Prime Minister and [[Subhi Barakat]] as Speaker of Parliament. In 1934, Abid negotiated a treaty with France that promised gradual independence from the mandate but kept the Syrian Mountains under French control. Atassi severely criticized the treaty, arguing that no independence was valid unless it encompassed all of Syria's territory. He called for a [[1936 Syrian general strike|60-day strike]] to protest Abid's proposed treaty. The Bloc mobilized massive street-wide support for Atassi's call, and most shops and enterprises closed down and riots raged daily, crippling the economy and embarrassing Abid before the international community.

In defeat, the French government agreed to recognize the National Bloc leaders as the sole representatives of the Syrian people and invited Hashim al-Atassi for diplomatic talks in Paris. On 22 March 1936, he headed a senior Bloc delegation to France, and, over 6 months, managed to formulate a [[Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence (1936)|Franco-Syrian treaty of independence]]. Atassi's treaty guaranteed emancipation over 25 years, with full incorporation of previously autonomous territories into [[Greater Syria]].

In return, Syria pledged to support France in times of war, offer the use of her air space, and the right for France to maintain military bases on Syrian territory. Other political, cultural, and economic attachments were made and Atassi returned to Syria in triumph on 27 September 1936. Hailed as a national hero, he was elected President of the Republic by a majority vote in November 1936, the first head of state of the modern state of Syria.

=== World War II ===
[[file:Hashim Atassi Inauguration 1936.jpg|thumb|right|The presidential inauguration of Hashim al-Atassi, seen here delivering his speech, in Parliament on 21 December 1936.]]

However, by the end of 1938 it became clear that the French government had no intention of ratifying the treaty, partly due to fears that if it relinquished its colonies in the Middle East, it would be outflanked in a war with [[Nazi Germany]] that was brewing in Europe. Atassi resigned on 7 July 1939 as the French continued to procrastinate about full Syrian independence and the withdrawal of French troops, and public discontent at the delay boiled over onto the streets. Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar returned to Syria at this time and agitated against Atassi and the National Block for failing to secure French ratification.

Atassi's resignation was also influenced by the French decision to cede the Syrian province of [[Alexandretta]] (current day Iskenderun in [[Hatay Province]]) to Turkey, enraging Syrian nationalists.<ref name="locsyria">{{Citation
| last = McGowan
| first = Afaf Sabeh
| editor-last = Collelo
| editor-first = Thomas
| year = 1988
| title = Syria : a country study
| chapter = History
| publisher = Federal Research Division, Library of Congress
| location = Washington, D.C
| pages = 18–20
| chapter-url = http://countrystudies.us/syria/
| access-date = 22 February 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629175419/http://countrystudies.us/syria/
| archive-date = 29 June 2011
}}</ref> The ex-President retired to his native [[Homs]] and spent one year in seclusion, refusing to take part in political activity. Following his resignation, several years of instability and French military rule followed. The 1940s overall were dominated by the politics and machinations of [[World War II]] and its aftermath. Syria was occupied by British and General [[Charles de Gaulle]]'s [[Free French Forces]], which did not leave until 1946.

In an attempt at appeasing the Syrians, de Gaulle promised independence and visited Syria to elicit support for France. He visited Hashim al-Atassi in Homs and invited him to resume the presidency, assuring the veteran leader that France wanted to turn a new page in her relations with Syria. Atassi refused, however, claiming that his recent experience showed that France could not be trusted in its promises of independence. In 1943, rather than re-nominate himself, Atassi endorsed the election of [[Shukri al-Quwatli]], a well-established Damascus leader who had risen to prominence under Atassi's patronage, as President of the Republic.

Atassi took no active part in the final struggle for independence but supported the Quwatli government, which lasted from 1943 to 1949. In 1947, while Syria was facing a prolonged cabinet crisis, President Quwatli called on his old mentor to form a government of national unity. Due to a tense political atmosphere, however, and increasing anti-Quwatli sentiment within political circles, Atassi was unable to intervene to save the administration. He also argued with President Quwatli over presidential authority and conditioned that it would have to be curtailed if he became prime minister, but Quwatli refused.

In March 1949, the Quwatli government was overthrown in a [[coup d'état]] by Chief of Staff [[Husni al-Za'im]], who headed a military cabinet for four months before he himself was overthrown in August 1949. Following this development, leading politicians called on the aging Atassi to create a [[provisional government]] that would supervise national elections and the restoration of civilian rule. He complied and formed a cabinet that included representatives of all parties, including the leftist [[Baath Party]] of [[Michel Aflaq]], who he appointed Minister of Agriculture. He released [[Munir al-Ajlani]], who was imprisoned by Husni al-Za'im, and voted him into the Constitutional Assembly. Under Atassi's auspices, a new electoral law was adopted, and women voted for the first time in the election of 15 and 16 November 1949.<ref name="locsyria" /> Atassi served as Prime Minister from August to December 1949, after which a parliamentary majority nominated him for a second term as president.