Muhammad Umran: Difference between revisions

Muhammad Umran
Muhammad Umran
محمد عمران‎
10th Minister of Defence
	In office; 1 September 1965 – 14 February 1966
Preceded by	Hamad Ubayd
Succeeded by	Hafez al-Assad
Member of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch
	In office; 1 February 1964 – 4 April 1965
Vice President of Syria
	In office; 8 March 1963 – 15 December 1964
Succeeded by	Nureddin al-Atassi
Personal details
Born	1922; al-Mukharram, French Mandate of Syria
Died	March 4, 1972 (aged 49–50); Tripoli, Lebanon
Political party	Ba'ath Party
Military service
Years of service	1942–1966
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	First Arab-Israeli War

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Major General Muhammad Umran (Arabic: محمد عمران; 1922 – 4 March 1972) was a Syrian general and a founding member of the Military Committee of the unitary Ba'ath Party. He was a leading personality in Syrian politics from the 1963 Syrian coup d'état until the 1966 coup d'état.

Biography

Umran was born in 1922 into an Alawite smallholder family which belonged to the Khayyatin tribe. He hailed from al-Mukharram, a village situated in the mountains east of Homs. He studied at the Homs Military Academy and joined the Ba'ath Party in 1947.^[1] Umran served in the Syrian Army during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and became active in politics following the military's forceful intervention in Syrian politics during the 1940s and 1950s. He played a small role under the aegis of Akram al-Hawrani in the 1954 uprising against Adib Shishakli's rule.^[2]

He was one of the five founding members of the Military Committee, the other founding members were Hafez al-Assad, Salah Jadid, Ahmad al-Mir and Abd al-Karim al-Jundi, but acted as the committee's leading mind.^[2] Umran was the committee's chairman until the 8th of March Revolution in 1963, and was the oldest committee member.^[1] In the beginning, the Military Committee's goal was to rebuild the Ba'ath Party, which had been dissolved on the orders of Gamal Abdel Nasser when the United Arab Republic was founded, and establish a new party leadership.^[3] During the UAR years, Umran and Jadid travelled the country and established contact with former party comrades, but without mentioning the existence of the Military Committee.^[4] In the immediate aftermath of the UAR's dissolution, Umran contacted the other members of the Military Committee, and asked about the possibility of launching a coup to reestablish the union. He had outlined the political climate in Syria, and compared the strength of the Ba'ath Party against other political opponents – he reached the conclusion that a coup could be successful.^[5]

Umran was a delegate at the 5th National Congress of the Ba'ath Party, and told Michel Aflaq of the Military Committee's intentions – Aflaq consented to a military coup to take power, but no agreement was made between him and the Military Committee on how to share power after seizing power.^[6] Following the 8th of March Revolution in 1963 which brought the Syrian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party to power in Syria, Umran was first given the command of the 5th Brigade in Homs, but was promoted in June to become commander of the 70th Armoured Brigade.^[7] Umran was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in the Salah al-Din al-Bitar's cabinet, the first Ba'athist government in Syrian history.^[8]

After taking power, Umran became a member of the National Council for the Revolutionary Command (NCRC), the leading decision-making organ.^[9] The organ was controlled more-or-less by the Military Committee and the Ba'ath Party's military wing, and important decisions were made without the collaboration of their civilian colleagues. After complaints from the civilian wing, Umran gave the civilian wing (represented by Aflaq, al-Bitar and Mansur al-Atrash among others) a faint idea of what the military leadership was up to.^[9] Due to his allegiance to the civilian wing, he was stripped of his military title by the Military Committee and was appointed an ambassador in Spain, as a form of exile for dissidents.^[10]

Umran was ousted from his position during the 1966 Syrian coup d'état by his former Military Committee comrades and was subsequently jailed in Mezzeh Prison. He was released following the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel, which ended in the latter's occupation of Syria's Golan Heights. Following his release, he fled to Lebanon.^[11]

Death

Umran was shot and killed outside of his home in Tripoli, Lebanon on 4 March 1972.^[12]^[13]

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b Moubayed 2006, p. 346.
^ ^a ^b Seale 1990, p. 62.
^ Seale 1990, pp. 63–64.
^ Seale 1990, p. 64–65.
^ Seale 1990, p. 80.
^ Seale 1990, p. 75.
^ Seale 1990, p. 79.
^ Moubayed 2006, pp. 346–347.
^ ^a ^b Seale 1990, p. 78.
^ Moubayed 2006, p. 347.
^ Paul, James A. (1990). Human Rights in Syria. Human Rights Watch. p. 40.
^ Nikolaos Van Dam (30 July 2017). Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria. I.B.Tauris. pp. 49–. ISBN 978-1-78672-248-5.
^ "Exiled Syrian aide is slain in Lebanon". The New York Times. 5 March 1972. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2023.

Bibliography

Alam, Mahboob (1994). Iraqi Foreign Policy Since Revolution. Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-8170995548.
Anderson, Bette Signe (2005). Nationalist Voices in Jordan: The Street and the State. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-70625-5.
Ginat, Rami (1998). Egypt's Incomplete Revolution: Lutfi al-Khuli and Nasser's Socialism in the 1960s. Routledge. ISBN 978-0714647388.
Makiya, Kanan (1998). Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520214392.
Moubayed, Sami M. (2006). Steel & Silk: Men and Women who shaped Syria 1900–2000. Cune Press. ISBN 978-1885942418.
Rejwan, Nissom (2008). Arabs in the Mirror: Images and Self-Images from Pre-Islamic to Modern Times (1st ed.). University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0292717282.
Seale, Patrick (1990). Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520069763.

[FOOTNOTEMoubayed2006346-1] Moubayed 2006, p. 346.

[FOOTNOTESeale199062-2] Seale 1990, p. 62.

[FOOTNOTESeale199063–64-3] Seale 1990, pp. 63–64.

[FOOTNOTESeale199064–65-4] Seale 1990, p. 64–65.

[FOOTNOTESeale199080-5] Seale 1990, p. 80.

[FOOTNOTESeale199075-6] Seale 1990, p. 75.

[FOOTNOTESeale199079-7] Seale 1990, p. 79.

[FOOTNOTEMoubayed2006346–347-8] Moubayed 2006, pp. 346–347.

[FOOTNOTESeale199078-9] Seale 1990, p. 78.

[FOOTNOTEMoubayed2006347-10] Moubayed 2006, p. 347.

[HRW-11] Paul, James A. (1990). Human Rights in Syria. Human Rights Watch. p. 40.

[Dam2017-12] Nikolaos Van Dam (30 July 2017). Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria. I.B.Tauris. pp. 49–. ISBN 978-1-78672-248-5.

[13] "Exiled Syrian aide is slain in Lebanon". The New York Times. 5 March 1972. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2023.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Syrian general and politician (1922-1972)}}
-{{distinguish|Mohammed Omran}}
 {{Infobox officeholder
-|name         = Muhammad Umran<br />{{lang|ar|محمد عمران}}
+| name                = Muhammad Umran
-|image        = Muhammad Umran.png
+| image               = Muhammad Umran.png
-|caption      =
+| caption             =
-|imagesize    = 200px
+| imagesize           = 200px
-|order        = [[Ministry of Defense (Syria)|Minister of Defence]]
+| order               = 10th [[Ministry of Defense (Syria)|Minister of Defence]]
-|term_start   = 1 September 1965
+| term_start          = 1 September 1965
-|term_end     = 14 February 1966
+| term_end            = 14 February 1966
-|predecessor  = [[Hamad Ubayd]]
+| predecessor         = [[Hamad Ubayd]]
-|successor    = [[Hafez al-Assad]]
+| successor           = [[Hafez al-Assad]]
+| office4             = Member of the [[Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Regional Command]] of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Syrian Regional Branch]]
-|term_start1  = 2 May 1963
+| term_start4         = 1 February 1964
-|term_end1    = 1965
+| term_end4           = 4 April 1965
-|predecessor1 = [[Mohammad al-Sufi]]
-|successor1   = [[Hamad Ubayd]]
+| office5             = [[Vice President of Syria]]
+| term_start5         = 8 March 1963
-|office4      = Member of the [[Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Regional Command]] of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Syrian Regional Branch]]
-|term_start4  = 1 February 1964
+| term_end5           = 15 December 1964
+| successor5          = [[Nureddin al-Atassi]]
-|term_end4    = 4 April 1965
-|office5      = [[Vice President of Syria]]
+| birth_date          = 1922
+| birth_place         = [[al-Mukharram]], [[French Mandate of Syria]]
-|term_start5  = 8 March 1963
+| death_date          = {{death date and age|1972|3|4|1922}}
-|term_end5    = 15 December 1964
+| death_place         = [[Tripoli, Lebanon]]
-|birth_date   = 1922
+| party               = [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Ba'ath Party]]
-|birth_place  = [[al-Mukharram]], [[French Mandate of Syria]]
+| rank                = [[File:Syria-Liwa.jpg|30px]] [[Major General]]
-|death_date   = {{death date and age|1972|3|4|1922}}
+| serviceyears        = 1942–1966
-|death_place  = [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]], [[Lebanon]]
+| native_name_lang    = ar
-|party        = [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Syrian Regional Branch]] of the [[Ba'ath Party|Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party]]
+| native_name         = {{Lang|ar|{{Script/Arabic|محمد عمران}}|rtl=yes}}
-|rank         = [[File:Syria-Liwa.jpg|30px]] [[Major General]]
+| battles             = [[First Arab-Israeli War]]
-|serviceyears = 1942–1966
 }}
-[[Major General]] '''Muhammad Umran''' ({{lang-ar|محمد عمران}}; 1922 – 4 March 1972) was a founding member of the Military Committee of the [[Ba'ath Party|unitary Ba'ath Party]], and a leading personality in Syrian politics from the [[8th of March Revolution]] until the [[1966 Syrian coup d'état]].
+[[Major General]] '''Muhammad Umran''' ({{lang-ar|محمد عمران}}; 1922 – 4 March 1972) was a Syrian general and a founding member of the Military Committee of the [[Ba'ath Party|unitary Ba'ath Party]]. He was a leading personality in Syrian politics from the [[1963 Syrian coup d'état]] until the [[1966 Syrian coup d'état|1966 coup d'état]].
-==Life and career==
+==Biography==
-Umran was born in 1922 into an Alawi [[smallholding|smallholder]] family which belonged to the [[Khayyatin]] tribe. He hailed from the village of [[al-Mukharram]], a village situated in the mountains east of [[Homs]]. Umran served in the [[Syrian Army]] during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], and became active in politics following the military's forceful intervention in Syrian politics during the 1940s and 1950s. He played a small role under the aegis of [[Akram al-Hawrani]] in the 1954 uprising against [[Adib Shishakli]]'s rule.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=62}}
+Umran was born in 1922 into an [[Alawites|Alawite]] [[smallholding|smallholder]] family which belonged to the [[Khayyatin]] tribe. He hailed from [[al-Mukharram]], a village situated in the mountains east of [[Homs]]. He studied at the [[Homs Military Academy]] and joined the Ba'ath Party in 1947.{{sfn|Moubayed|2006|p=346}} Umran served in the [[Syrian Army]] during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], and became active in politics following the military's forceful intervention in Syrian politics during the 1940s and 1950s. He played a small role under the aegis of [[Akram al-Hawrani]] in the [[1954 Syrian coup d'état|1954 uprising]] against [[Adib Shishakli]]'s rule.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=62}}
 He was one of the five founding members of the Military Committee, the other founding members were [[Hafez al-Assad]], [[Salah Jadid]], [[Ahmad al-Mir]] and [[Abd al-Karim al-Jundi]], but acted as the committee's leading mind.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=62}} Umran was the committee's chairman until the [[8th of March Revolution]] in 1963, and was the oldest committee member.{{sfn|Moubayed|2006|p=346}} In the beginning, the Military Committee's goal was to rebuild the Ba'ath Party, which had been dissolved on the orders of [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] when the [[United Arab Republic]] was founded, and establish a new party leadership.{{sfn|Seale|1990|pp=63–64}} During the UAR years, Umran and Jadid travelled the country and established contact with former party comrades, but without mentioning the existence of the Military Committee.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=64–65}} In the immediate aftermath of the UAR's dissolution, Umran contacted the other members of the Military Committee, and asked about the possibility of launching a coup to reestablish the union. He had outlined the political climate in Syria, and compared the strength of the Ba'ath Party against other political opponents – he reached the conclusion that a coup could be successful.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=80}}
@@ Line 39: / Line 38: @@
 Umran was a delegate at the 5th National Congress of the Ba'ath Party, and told [[Michel Aflaq]] of the Military Committee's intentions – Aflaq consented to a military coup to take power, but no agreement was made between him and the Military Committee on how to share power after seizing power.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=75}} Following the 8th of March Revolution in 1963 which brought the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Syrian Regional Branch]] of the Ba'ath Party to power in Syria, Umran was first given the command of the [[5th Brigade (Syria)|5th Brigade]] in Homs, but was promoted in June to become commander of the [[70th Armoured Brigade (Syria)|70th Armoured Brigade]].{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=79}} Umran was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in the [[Salah al-Din al-Bitar]]'s cabinet, the first Ba'athist government in Syrian history.{{sfn|Moubayed|2006|pp=346–347}}
-After taking power, Umran became a member of the [[National Council for the Revolutionary Command]] (NCRC), the leading decision-making organ.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=78}} The organ was controlled more-or-less by the Military Committee and the Ba'ath Party's military wing, and important decisions were made without the collaboration of their civilian colleagues. After complaints from the civilian wing, Umran gave the civilian wing (represented by Aflaq, al-Bitar and [[Mansur al-Atrash]] among others) a faint idea of what the military leadership was up to.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=78}}
+After taking power, Umran became a member of the [[National Council for the Revolutionary Command]] (NCRC), the leading decision-making organ.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=78}} The organ was controlled more-or-less by the Military Committee and the Ba'ath Party's military wing, and important decisions were made without the collaboration of their civilian colleagues. After complaints from the civilian wing, Umran gave the civilian wing (represented by Aflaq, al-Bitar and [[Mansur al-Atrash]] among others) a faint idea of what the military leadership was up to.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=78}} Due to his allegiance to the civilian wing, he was stripped of his military title by the Military Committee and was appointed an ambassador in [[Spain]], as a form of exile for dissidents.{{sfn|Moubayed|2006|p=347}}
 Umran was ousted from his position during the [[1966 Syrian coup d'état]] by his former Military Committee comrades and was subsequently jailed in [[Mezzeh Prison]]. He was released following the 1967 [[Six-Day War]] with Israel, which ended in the latter's occupation of Syria's [[Golan Heights]]. Following his release, he fled to [[Lebanon]].<ref name="HRW">Paul, James A. (1990). [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_N-xjxWYWnlwC/page/n143 <!-- pg=140 --> Human Rights in Syria]. ''[[Human Rights Watch]]''. p. 40.</ref>
 ==Death==
-Umran was shot and killed outside of his home in [[Tripoli, Lebanon]] on 4 March 1972.<ref name="Dam2017">{{cite book|author=Nikolaos Van Dam|title=Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MARsDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT49|date=30 July 2017|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-78672-248-5|pages=49–}}</ref>
+Umran was shot and killed outside of his home in [[Tripoli, Lebanon]] on 4 March 1972.<ref name="Dam2017">{{cite book|author=Nikolaos Van Dam|title=Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MARsDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT49|date=30 July 2017|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-78672-248-5|pages=49–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/05/archives/exiled-syrian-aide-is-slain-in-lebanon.html |title=Exiled Syrian aide is slain in Lebanon |website=The New York Times |date=5 March 1972 |access-date=2 June 2023 |archive-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402110512/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/05/archives/exiled-syrian-aide-is-slain-in-lebanon.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 57: / Line 56: @@
 * {{cite book | author = Ginat, Rami | title = Egypt's Incomplete Revolution: Lutfi al-Khuli and Nasser's Socialism in the 1960s | ref = CITEREFGinat1997 | publisher = [[Routledge]] | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0714647388 }}
 * {{cite book | author = Makiya, Kanan | title = Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq | ref = CITEREFMakiya1998 | publisher = [[University of California Press]] | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0520214392 | url = https://archive.org/details/republicoffearpo00maki }}
-* {{cite book | author = Moubayed, Sami M. |  ref = CITEREFMoubayed2006 | title = Steel & Silk: Men and Women who shaped Syria 1900–2000 | publisher = Cune Press | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-1885942418 }}
+* {{cite book | author = Moubayed, Sami M. | author-link = Sami Moubayed |  ref = CITEREFMoubayed2006 | title = Steel & Silk: Men and Women who shaped Syria 1900–2000 | publisher = Cune Press | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-1885942418 }}
 * {{cite book | author = Rejwan, Nissom |  ref = CITEREFRejwan2008 | title = Arabs in the Mirror: Images and Self-Images from Pre-Islamic to Modern Times | publisher = [[University of Texas Press]] | year = 2008 | edition = 1st | isbn = 978-0292717282 }}
 * {{cite book | author = Seale, Patrick | author-link = Patrick Seale | ref = CITEREFSeale1990 | title = Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East | publisher = [[University of California Press]] | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-0520069763 | url = https://archive.org/details/asadofsyriastrug00seal }}
@@ Line 73: / Line 72: @@
 [[Category:Syrian Arab nationalists]]
 [[Category:Syrian Alawites]]
+[[Category:Assassinated Syrian politicians]]
+[[Category:Asian politicians assassinated in the 1970s]]
+[[Category:Politicians assassinated in 1972]]

v t e Syrian Ministers of Defense
Kingdom of Syria (1920)	Kingdom of Syria al-Ulshi al-'Azma
French Mandate of Syria (1920–1946) post established 1932	French Mandate of Syria al-Atrash al-Quwatli al-Ayyubi al-Bukhari
Second Syrian Republic (1946–1958)	Syrian Arab Republic Mardam Bey al-Azm al-Jabiri al-'Azma al-Sharabati al-Za'im Atfeh al-Hawrani Selu Barmada al-Khatib Khankan al-Dawalibi al-Ghazzi Raslan
United Arab Republic (1958–1961)	United Arab Republic Amer
Second Syrian Republic (1961–1963)	Syrian Arab Republic al-Kuzbari al-Nuss Barmada Zahreddine
Syrian Arab Republic (1963–Present) post 1963 Syrian coup d'état	Syrian Arab Republic al-Sufi al-Hariri Ziade Jaber Ubayd Umran al-Assad Tlass Turkmani Mahmud Rajiha al-Freij Ayyoub Abbas