Nasuhi al-Bukhari

Nasuhi al-Bukhari
نصوحي البخاري
Nasuhi al-Bukhari (right) with President Shukri al-Quwatli in 1943
Prime Minister of Syria
In office 5 April 1939 – 8 July 1939
President	Hashim al-Atassi
Preceded by	Lutfi al-Haffar
Succeeded by	Khalid al-Azm
Personal details
Born	1881 Damascus, Ottoman Syria
Died	1 July 1961 Damascus, Syria
Alma mater	Ottoman Military Academy
Religion	Islam
Military service
Allegiance	Ottoman Empire (1915–1918) Arab Kingdom of Syria (1919–1920)
Rank	Colonel

Nasuhi al-Bukhari (Arabic: نصوحي البخاري‎‎) or Nasuh al-Boukhari (Arabic: نصوح البخاري‎‎) (1881 – 1 July 1961) was a Syrian soldier and politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of Syria in 1939.

Career

Early career

Nasuhi al-Bukhari received his education at the Ottoman Military Academy in Istanbul. He served in the Ottoman Army until he was captured by the Allies during World War I. In 1916, after escaping his Siberian exile, he went back to Istanbul.^[1]

When the Ottoman Empire fell in 1918, Faisal I declared himself King of Syria. Under Faisal, Bukhari commanded the Aleppo garrison before being sent to Cairo in January 1920 as military attache to Egypt. In July 1920 French Mandate of Syria was declared,^[1] and the country was divided into several independent states. In September 1920, Haqqi al-Azm was appointed governor of the State of Damascus,^[2] and in December he appointed Bukhari as minister of military affairs in his administration, which served until 1922.^[1] After the suppression of the Great Syrian Revolt in 1926, Ahmad Nami was appointed by the new French Commissioner, Henri de Jouvenel, to head a provisional council of ministers in the State of Syria, which comprised the former states of Damascus and Aleppo.^[3] Bukhari served as minister of agriculture in Ahmad Nami's cabinet^[1] until its resignation in February 1928.^[4]

Premiership

On 5 April 1939, during a cabinet crisis between the ruling National Bloc and the opposition,^[5] nationalist leader Hashim al-Atassi called on Bukhari to form a non-party government.^[6] In addition to being premier, Bukhari held the portfolios of interior and defense, and appointed independent veteran politician, Khalid al-Azm, minister of economy. Bukhari had responsibility for talks to ratify the Franco–Syrian Treaty of Independence of 1936, but these broke down when the French retreated from the terms of the treaty, and demanded to keep several military bases in the country.^[1] He subsequently resigned on 8 July 1939.^[1]

Later life

Between August 1943 and November 1944 Bukhari was minister of education and acting minister of defence in Saadallah al-Jabiri's cabinet. However, his subsequent advocacy of a Syrian Army with military draft proved electorally unpopular in Damascus.^[1] After losing his parliamentary seat in the 1947 elections, he retired from political life.^[7]

References

Citations

1. Moubayed, 2006, p. 216
2. Tauber, 1994, p. 38.
3. Lenczowski, 1980, p. 317.
4. Fisher, 1971, p. 415.
5. Moubayed, 1999, p. 130
6. Mardam Bey, 1994, p. 17.
7. Moubayed, 2006, p. 217

Bibliography

• Moubayed, Sami M. (2006). Steel & Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900–2000. Cune Press. ISBN 978-1-885942-41-8. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
• Tauber, Eliezer (1994). The Formation of Modern Iraq and Syria. Routledge. ISBN 9780714645575. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
• Lenczowski, George (1980). The Middle East in World Affairs. Cornell University Press. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
• Fisher, Sydney Nettleton (1971). The Middle East: A History. Routledge and K. Paul. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
• Moubayed, Sami M. (1999). The politics of Damascus, 1920–1946. Tlasse House. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
• Mardam Bey, Salma (1994). Syria's quest for independence. Ithaca Press. ISBN 978-0-86372-175-5. Retrieved 11 September 2012.

External links

• Nasuh al-Boukhari at syrianhistory.com