Hashim Al-Atassi - Legacy

Legacy

President Hashim al-Atassi ended his term in September 1955 and retired from political life, elderly and infirm. In 1956, his son Adnan was implicated in an Iraqi-linked conspiracy that attempted to topple the pro-Nasser regime of President Shukri al-Kuwatli. Adnan was brought to court and sentenced to death on the charge of treason. Out of respect for his father, however, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

It was believed that the officers who administered the military tribunal were especially harsh with the son out of vengeance for the father, for attempting to curb military authority during his second and third terms (1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1955). The former President, however, refused to visit his son in prison, as a mark of resentment against the militarization of Syria. He died in Homs during the union years with Egypt on December 6, 1960. His funeral was the largest in the history of the city, attended by senior members of the United Arab Republic (UAR) regime of President Nasser.

Two members of his family (Luai al-Atassi and Nureddin al-Atassi) went on to serve as heads of state in the 1960s. Amid the confusion and violence that often formed the background of Syrian republican history, he stood out as a man of sound principles dedicated to constitutional methods of government. He is respected by all players in Syrian politics and is one of the few politicians of the pre-Baath era who was not criticized by the Baathists when they came to power in 1963. Atassi's biography was published in Syria in 2005 by his grandson. He did not leave behind any daily memoirs.