Editing Hashim al-Atassi (section)

== Second Presidential term ==
[[File:Atassi 2nd inauguration Dec 1949.jpg|right|thumb|Hashim al-Atassi's second inaugural address, having been elected by a unanimous vote in Parliament in December 1949 to replace the dictatorship of General [[Husni al-Za'im]].]]

Atassi's second term in office was even more turbulent than his first. He came into conflict with the politicians of Damascus for supporting the interests of the Aleppo nobility and their desire to unite with [[Iraq]]. He supported the [[People's Party (Syria)|People's Party]] of Aleppo and appointed its leader [[Nazim al-Qudsi]] as prime minister. The party was vehemently pro-Iraq and sought a union with [[Baghdad]]. One of the Atassi administration's most memorable actions was the closure of Syria's border with [[Lebanon]] to prevent the rampant influx of Lebanese goods into Syria. From 1949 to 1951, he undertook serious talks with the Iraqi government over the union issue.

Atassi received senior Iraqi leaders in Damascus, including Crown Prince Abd al-Illah and [[Faisal II of Iraq]], for technical discussions on union. This angered Syria's emerging military strongman [[Adib Shishakli]], who claimed that the [[Hashemite]] family of Baghdad should have no jurisdiction over Damascus. Shishakli demanded a change in course, yet Atassi remained adamant and refused to submit to military pressure. In response, Shishakli arrested Atassi's Chief of Staff Sami al-Hinnawi, a People's Party sympathizer, and several pro-Iraqi officers in the Syrian Army. He then demanded that one of his right-hand-men, Colonel Fawzi Selu, be appointed Minister of Defense, to ensure that pro-Iraqi influence in Syria remained under control.

Fearing a head-on-clash with the military, Atassi reluctantly accepted the demands. In December 1951, however, President Atassi asked [[Maarouf al-Dawalibi]], another member of the People's Party, to form a cabinet. Dawalibi accepted the job but refused to give the defense portfolio to Fawzi Selu. As a result, Shishakli launched another coup, arresting the prime minister and all members of the People's Party. All ministers and pro-Hashemite statesmen were also abducted, and Parliament was dissolved. In protest, President Atassi presented his resignation to the disbanded Parliament, refusing to submit it to Shishakli, on 24 December 1951.

=== Opposition to military rule ===
During the Shishakli years (1951 to 1954), Atassi spearheaded the opposition, claiming that the Shishakli government was unconstitutional. He rallied the support of disgruntled officers, pro-Hashemite politicians, and members of all outlawed political parties, and called for a national uprising. In February 1954, Shishakli responded by arresting his son Adnan and placing the veteran statesman under house arrest. Such was Atassi's stature in Syria as its elder statesman that Shishakli dared not subject him to the indignity of outright imprisonment.

The officers mutinied, political leaders mobilized against the government, and an armed uprising broke out in the Arab Mountain. On 24 February 1954, the government of Adib al-Shishakli was finally overthrown. Four days later, on 28 February, Atassi returned to Damascus from his home in Homs and reassumed his duties as President. He appointed [[Sabri al-Assali]] as Prime Minister, and restored all pre-Shishakli ambassadors, ministers, and parliamentarians to office. He tried to eradicate all traces of the four-year Shishakli dictatorship.