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{{Short description|Syrian-origin Saudi government official (1888−1962)}}
{{Short description|Syrian-origin Saudi government official (1888–1962)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|image =
|image =
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|years_active = 1920s–1958
|years_active = 1920s–1958
|spouse =
|spouse =
|children = 8 }}
|children = 8
}}
'''Yusuf Yasin''' (also known as Yousuf Yassin; 1888 &ndash; 19 April 1962) was a Syrian journalist and politician who served in various capacities during the reign of [[King Abdulaziz]] and [[King Saud]].<ref name=npg>{{cite web|title=Youssef Yassin; Saud bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia; Hafiz Wahba|url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw137927/Youssef-Yassin-Saud-bin-Abdul-Aziz-King-of-Saudi-Arabia-Hafiz-Wahba|work=National Portrait Gallery|access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref> He was among the advisers of King Abdulaziz who were employed to improve the decision-making process of the state.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Joseph Kostiner|title=On Instruments and Their Designers: The Ikhwan of Najd and the Emergence of the Saudi State|journal=[[Middle Eastern Studies (journal)|Middle Eastern Studies]]|date=July 1985|volume=21|issue=3
'''Yusuf Yasin''' (also known as Yousuf Yassin; {{Langx|ar|يوسف ياسين}}; 1888 &ndash; 19 April 1962) was a Syrian journalist and politician who served in various capacities during the reign of [[King Abdulaziz]] and [[King Saud]].<ref name=npg>{{cite web|title=Youssef Yassin; Saud bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia; Hafiz Wahba|url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw137927/Youssef-Yassin-Saud-bin-Abdul-Aziz-King-of-Saudi-Arabia-Hafiz-Wahba|work=National Portrait Gallery|access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref> He was among the advisers of King Abdulaziz who were employed to improve the decision-making process of the state.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Joseph Kostiner|title=On Instruments and Their Designers: The Ikhwan of Najd and the Emergence of the Saudi State|journal=[[Middle Eastern Studies (journal)|Middle Eastern Studies]]|date=July 1985
|page=315|doi=10.1080/00263208508700631}}</ref> Yasin performed several roles in the Saudi government until 1958 when he was dismissed by [[Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia|Crown Prince]] [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|Faisal]].
|volume=21|issue=3|page=315|doi=10.1080/00263208508700631}}</ref> Yasin performed several roles in the Saudi government until his death in 1962.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Yusuf Yasin was born in [[Latakia]], Syria, in 1888.<ref name=npg/><ref name=sus>{{cite web|author=Joseph A. Kechichian|author-link=Joseph A. Kéchichian|title=The Arab Nationalist Advisor|url=http://www.sussex-academic.com/sa/titles/middle_east_studies/KechichianNationalist.htm
Yusuf Yasin was born in [[Latakia]], Syria, in 1888.<ref name=npg/><ref name=sus>{{cite web|author=Joseph A. Kechichian|author-link=Joseph A. Kéchichian|title=The Arab Nationalist Advisor|url=http://www.sussex-academic.com/sa/titles/middle_east_studies/KechichianNationalist.htm
|work=Sussex. Middle East Studies|access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref> His parents were Fatima bint Abdullah Jamal and Shaikh Mohammad Yasin, and his grandfather was Ali Al Masri, an Egyptian immigrant to Syria.<ref name=nata/>
|work=Sussex. Middle East Studies|access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref> His parents were Fatima bint Abdullah Jamal and Shaikh Mohammad Yasin, and his grandfather was Ali Al Masri, probably an Egyptian immigrant to Syria.<ref name=nata/>


Following religious education in Latakia Yasin graduated from the [[University of Jerusalem]] in 1911.<ref name=nata/>
Following religious education in Latakia Yasin graduated from the [[University of Jerusalem]] in 1911.<ref name=nata/> He was also educated in Cairo where one of his tutors was [[Rashid Rida]].<ref name=adam/>


==Career and activities==
==Career and activities==
⚫
Yasin worked as a teacher in [[Jerusalem]] in the Ottoman period and supported the [[Pan-Arabism|pan-Arab]] views during [[World War I]].<ref name=times62>{{cite news|title=Shaikh Yusuf Yasin|work=[[The Times]]|issue=55374|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS252142233/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=bb77d304|access-date=24 February 2023|date=25 April 1962}}</ref> He served in the court of [[Faisal I of Iraq|Amir Faisal]], son of [[Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz]] between 1917 and 1918.<ref name=times62/> In 1920 Yasin began to work for Hussein bin Ali in [[Mecca]] who sent him to his another son [[Abdullah I of Jordan|Abdullah]], Amir of Transjordan.<ref name=times62/> However, he left Abdullah's service just six months after his appointment.<ref name=times62/> Yasin cofounded a weekly nationalist newspaper in Jerusalem in 1921.<ref name=aida>{{cite thesis|author=Aida Ali Najjar|author-link=Aida Najjar|id={{ProQuest|288060869}}|title=The Arabic Press and Nationalism in Palestine, 1920-1948|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/288060869|location=[[Syracuse University]]|isbn=9781083851468|page=65|degree=PhD
Yasin worked as a teacher in [[Jerusalem]] during the Ottoman period.<ref name=times62>{{cite news|title=Shaikh Yusuf Yasin|work=[[The Times]]
⚫
|year=1975}}</ref> His business associate was Mohammad Kamil Al Budari, and their paper was entitled ''Al Sabah''.<ref name=aida/>
⚫
|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS252142233/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=bb77d304|access-date=24 February 2023|issue=55374|date=25 April 1962}}</ref> During [[World War I]] he began to support the [[Pan-Arabism|pan-Arab]] views.<ref name=times62/> In 1917 he joined the service of [[Faisal I of Iraq|Amir Faisal]], son of [[Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz]], and continued to serve him until next year.<ref name=times62/> In 1920 Yasin began to work for Hussein bin Ali in [[Mecca]] who sent him to his another son [[Abdullah I of Jordan|Abdullah]], Amir of Transjordan.<ref name=times62/> However, he left Abdullah's service just six months after his appointment.<ref name=times62/> Yasin cofounded a weekly nationalist newspaper in Jerusalem in 1921.<ref name=aida>{{cite thesis|author=Aida Ali Najjar|author-link=Aida Najjar|id={{ProQuest|288060869}}
|title=The Arabic Press and Nationalism in Palestine, 1920-1948|location=[[Syracuse University]]|isbn=9781083851468|page=65|degree=PhD|year=1975
⚫
|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/288060869}}</ref> His business associate was Mohammad Kamil Al Budari, and their paper was entitled ''Al Sabah''.<ref name=aida/>


Yasin left Syria due to the [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French occupation]] of the region due to his strong adherence to the independence of Syria and was part of a group called the Istiqlali network which also included another journalist [[Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli]].<ref name=adam>{{cite book|author=Adam Mestyan|year=2023|title=Modern Arab Kingship: Remaking the Ottoman Political Order in the Interwar Middle East|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|pages=176, 190|location=Princeton, NJ; Oxford|isbn=9780691249353|doi=10.1353/book.113384|s2cid=260307818 }}</ref> Yasin began to work for the [[House of Saud]] in 1923 or in 1924.<ref name=nata/><ref name=Van2018>{{cite book|author=D. van der Meulen|page=141
Yasin began to work for the [[House of Saud]] in 1923 or in 1924.<ref name=nata/><ref name=Van2018>{{cite book|author=D. van der Meulen|page=141
|title=Wells of Ibn Saud|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJMECwAAQBAJ&pg=PT141|location=Abingdon; New York|year=2018|isbn=978-1-317-84766-3
|title=Wells of Ibn Saud|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJMECwAAQBAJ&pg=PT141|location=Abingdon; New York|year=2018|isbn=978-1-317-84766-3|publisher=[[Routledge]]}}</ref> [[Shukri al-Quwatli|Shukri Al Quwatli]], future [[president of Syria]], was instrumental in Yasin's new career.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Yossi Olmert|title=A false Dilemma? Syria and Lebanon's independence during the mandatory period|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=32|issue=3|year=1996|doi=10.1080/00263209608701118|page=43}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis|author=Sonoko Sunayama|title=Syria and Saudi Arabia, 1978–1990; A Study of the Role of Shared Identities in Alliance-Making|location=[[University of London]]|degree=PhD|year=2004
⚫
|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2900/|page=29}}</ref> Yasin intended to work as a teacher for the [[Descendants of Ibn Saud|sons]] of King Abdulaziz.<ref name=Van2018/> He first became the head of the political section of the royal court and private secretary to the King.<ref name=smh66/>
|publisher=[[Routledge]]}}</ref> [[Shukri al-Quwatli|Shukri Al Quwatli]], future [[president of Syria]], was instrumental in Yasin's new career.<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Sonoko Sunayama|title=Syria and Saudi Arabia, 1978–1990; A Study of the Role of Shared Identities in Alliance-Making
⚫
|location=[[University of London]]|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2900/|degree=PhD|year=2004|page=29}}</ref> Yasin intended to work as a teacher for the [[Descendants of Ibn Saud|sons]] of King Abdulaziz.<ref name=Van2018/> He first became the head of the political section of the royal court and private secretary to the King.<ref name=smh66/>


In 1925 Yasin contributed to the establishment of a weekly paper in Mecca, ''[[Umm Al-Qura (newspaper)|Umm Al Qura]]'', of which he became the first [[editor-in-chief]].<ref name=nata>{{cite news|author=Joseph A. Kechichian|title=Nationalist adviser|access-date=29 November 2020
Yasin contributed to the establishment of a weekly paper in Mecca, ''[[Umm Al-Qura (newspaper)|Umm Al Qura]]'', in 1924 of which he became the first [[editor-in-chief]].<ref name=nata>{{cite news|author=Joseph A. Kechichian|title=Nationalist adviser|access-date=29 November 2020|work=[[Gulf News]]|url=https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/nationalist-adviser-1.748234|date=21 January 2011}}</ref><ref name=adam/><ref>{{cite journal
|work=[[Gulf News]]|url=https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/nationalist-adviser-1.748234|date=21 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=C. C. Lewis|title=Ibn Sa'ūd and the Future of Arabia|date=July 1933|journal=[[International Affairs (journal)|International Affairs]]|volume=12|issue=4
|author=C. C. Lewis|title=Ibn Sa'ūd and the Future of Arabia|date=July 1933|journal=[[International Affairs (journal)|International Affairs]]
|page=523|doi=10.2307/2603605|jstor=2603605}}</ref> The paper soon functioned as the official gazette of the country.<ref>{{cite web|work=World Digital Library|title=Umm al-Qurá, Number 591, 3 April 1936|url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/16246/|date=3 April 1936|access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref> In 1926 he was made the political secretary of King Abdulaziz and then, appointed an adviser to him in the 1930s.<ref name=nata/> On 29 December 1930 Yasin became a Saudi citizen.<ref name=nata/> He suggested the addition of the phrase ''al-Sa’udiyyah'' to the name of the country, ''Al-Mamlakah al-'Arabiyyah al-Sa’udiyyah'', known as Saudi Arabia, in 1932.<ref name=sus/> In 1937 he was part of the Saudi delegation who visited [[London]] to attend the [[Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth|coronation]] of [[King George VI]].<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Jerald L. Thompson|title=H. St. John Philby, Ibn Saud and Palestine|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA111290|degree=MA|date=December 1981
|volume=12|page=523|issue=4|doi=10.2307/2603605|jstor=2603605}}</ref> The paper soon functioned as the official gazette of the country.<ref>{{cite web|work=World Digital Library|title=Umm al-Qurá, Number 591, 3 April 1936|url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/16246/|date=3 April 1936|access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref> He was made the political secretary of King Abdulaziz in 1926 and then, appointed an adviser to him in the 1930s.<ref name=nata/> He was also head of the press bureau and accompanied the king in his meeting with Amir Faisal, King of Iraq, in February 1930.<ref>{{cite news|title=Meeting of Arab Kings|issue=45415|location=Baghdad|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS186589748/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=bce6d53d|access-date=11 August 2023|work=The Times|date=20 January 1930}}</ref>
Yasin became a Saudi citizen on 29 December 1930.<ref name=nata/> He suggested the addition of the phrase ''al-Sa’udiyyah'' to the name of the country, ''Al-Mamlakah al-'Arabiyyah al-Sa’udiyyah'', known as Saudi Arabia, in 1932.<ref name=sus/> In 1937 he was part of the Saudi delegation who visited [[London]] to attend the [[Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth|coronation]] of [[King George VI]].<ref>{{cite thesis|degree=MA
|author=Jerald L. Thompson|title=H. St. John Philby, Ibn Saud and Palestine|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA111290|date=December 1981
|location=DTIC}}</ref> The same year while officially visiting Baghdad, Iraq, upon the request of King Abdulaziz Yasin attempted to contact with a German arms company owned by [[Otto Wolff]] to buy rifles.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Basheer M. Nafi|title=The Arabs and the Axis: 1933–1940
|location=DTIC}}</ref> The same year while officially visiting Baghdad, Iraq, upon the request of King Abdulaziz Yasin attempted to contact with a German arms company owned by [[Otto Wolff]] to buy rifles.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Basheer M. Nafi|title=The Arabs and the Axis: 1933–1940
|journal=[[Arab Studies Quarterly]]|date=Spring 1997|volume=19|issue=2|page=7|jstor=41858205}}</ref> During the same visit Yasin met with [[Fritz Grobba]], [[Nazi Germany]]'s ambassador to Iraq.<ref>{{cite journal|author=R. Melka|title=Nazi Germany and the Palestine Question|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|date=October 1969|volume=5|issue=3|jstor=4282292|page=225|doi=10.1080/00263206908700130}}</ref>
|journal=[[Arab Studies Quarterly]]|date=Spring 1997|volume=19|issue=2|page=7|jstor=41858205}}</ref> There Yasin also met with [[Fritz Grobba]], [[Nazi Germany]]'s ambassador to Iraq.<ref>{{cite journal|author=R. Melka|title=Nazi Germany and the Palestine Question|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|date=October 1969|volume=5|issue=3|jstor=4282292|page=225|doi=10.1080/00263206908700130}}</ref>


Yasin signed the extradition treaty between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on behalf of the latter that established the [[Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone]] in 1942.<ref name=smh66>{{cite journal|author=Sayed M. Hosni|title=The Partition of the Neutral Zone|journal=[[American Journal of International Law]]|date=October 1966|volume=60|issue=4|pages=735–749|doi=10.2307/2196925|jstor=2196925|s2cid=147323918}}</ref> The same year Yasin was the Saudi Arabian representative at the [[Arab League]] meeting in [[Alexandria]], [[Kingdom of Egypt]].<ref name=times62/> He accompanied King Abdulaziz in his meeting with [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] on 14 February 1945.<ref>{{cite news|title=Charles Claftin sees History in the making
Yasin signed the extradition treaty between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on behalf of the latter that established the [[Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone]] in 1942.<ref name=smh66>{{cite journal|author=Sayed M. Hosni|title=The Partition of the Neutral Zone|journal=[[American Journal of International Law]]|date=October 1966|volume=60|issue=4|pages=735–749|doi=10.2307/2196925|jstor=2196925|s2cid=147323918}}</ref> The same year Yasin was the Saudi Arabian representative at the [[Arab League]] meeting in [[Alexandria]], [[Kingdom of Egypt]].<ref name=times62/> He accompanied King Abdulaziz in his meeting with [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] on 14 February 1945.<ref>{{cite news|title=Charles Claftin sees History in the making
Line 46: Line 47:


Yasin replaced [[Fuad Hamza]] as deputy foreign minister in 1951 when Hamza died.<ref name=times62/><ref>{{cite journal|author=Michael Quentin Morton|title=The Buraimi affair: oil prospecting and drawing the frontiers of Saudi Arabia|journal=[[Asian Affairs]]|year=2015|volume=46|issue=1
Yasin replaced [[Fuad Hamza]] as deputy foreign minister in 1951 when Hamza died.<ref name=times62/><ref>{{cite journal|author=Michael Quentin Morton|title=The Buraimi affair: oil prospecting and drawing the frontiers of Saudi Arabia|journal=[[Asian Affairs]]|year=2015|volume=46|issue=1
|page=9|doi=10.1080/03068374.2014.994960|s2cid=159991702}}</ref> Between 1952 and 1955 Yasin was responsible for Saudi activities in the [[Buraimi Oasis]] and was a member of the Buraimi Arbitration Tribunal.<ref>{{cite web|author=Roderick Parkes|title=Notes on the Main Characters|year=1966
|page=9|doi=10.1080/03068374.2014.994960|s2cid=159991702}}</ref> Between 1952 and 1955 Yasin was responsible for Saudi activities in the [[Buraimi Oasis]] and was a member of the Buraimi Arbitration Tribunal.<ref>{{cite web|author=Roderick Parkes|title=Notes on the Main Characters
|url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/buraimi-the-struggle-for-power-influence-and-oil-in-arabia/notes-on-the-main-characters
|year=1966|url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/buraimi-the-struggle-for-power-influence-and-oil-in-arabia/notes-on-the-main-characters
|work=Bloomsbury Collections|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=J. B. Kelly|title=Arabian Frontiers and Anglo-American Relations|journal=[[Government and Opposition]]|date=Summer 1992|volume=27|issue=3|pages=368–384|doi=10.1111/j.1477-7053.1992.tb00417.x
|work=Bloomsbury Collections|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=J. B. Kelly|title=Arabian Frontiers and Anglo-American Relations|journal=[[Government and Opposition]]|date=Summer 1992|volume=27|issue=3|pages=368–384|doi=10.1111/j.1477-7053.1992.tb00417.x
|s2cid=142203406}}</ref> Following the death of King Abdulaziz, Yasin served as the state minister and the advisor to [[King Saud]], successor of the king.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hermann Eilts|editor=L. Carl Brown|title=Diplomacy in the Middle East: The International Relations of Regional and Outside Powers|year=2004|publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]]|location=New York City|isbn=1860648991|page=227|chapter=Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Policy
|s2cid=142203406}}</ref> Following the death of King Abdulaziz, Yasin served as the state minister and the advisor to [[King Saud]], successor of the king.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hermann Eilts|editor=L. Carl Brown|title=Diplomacy in the Middle East: The International Relations of Regional and Outside Powers|year=2004|publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]]|location=New York City|isbn=1860648991|page=227|chapter=Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Policy
|author-link=Hermann Eilts|chapter-url=http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/55465/1/161.pdf.pdf}}</ref><ref name=ssh84>{{cite thesis
|author-link=Hermann Eilts|chapter-url=http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/55465/1/161.pdf.pdf}}</ref><ref name=ssh84>{{cite thesis
|author=Summer Scott Huyette|title=Political Adaptation in Saudi Arabia: A Study of the Council of Ministers|page=135|degree=PhD|year=1984
|author=Summer Scott Huyette|title=Political Adaptation in Saudi Arabia: A Study of the Council of Ministers|page=135|degree=PhD|year=1984
|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/303285259|id={{ProQuest|303285259}}|location=[[Columbia University]]|isbn=979-8-205-88566-9}}</ref> It was Yusuf Yasin who made an inauguration speech at the meeting of the council of ministers in the [[Murabba Palace]] on 7 March 1954.<ref name=ssh84/> On 15 May 1958 Yasin was removed from the post by Crown Prince Faisal.<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Gary Samuel Samore|page=120|degree=PhD|year=1984
|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/303285259|id={{ProQuest|303285259}}|location=[[Columbia University]]|isbn=979-8-205-88566-9}}</ref> It was Yusuf Yasin who made an inauguration speech at the meeting of the council of ministers in the [[Murabba Palace]] on 7 March 1954.<ref name=ssh84/> Yasin was removed from the post of deputy foreign minister by [[Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia|Crown Prince]] [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|Faisal]] on 15 May 1958.<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Gary Samuel Samore|page=120|year=1984|degree=PhD|title=Royal Family Politics in Saudi Arabia (1953-1982)|isbn=9798641924397|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/303295482|location=[[Harvard University]]|id={{ProQuest|303295482}}}}</ref> Yasin's role as an aide to King Saud continued until his death in April 1962.<ref name=ttim62/>
|title=Royal Family Politics in Saudi Arabia (1953-1982)|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/303295482|location=[[Harvard University]]
|id={{ProQuest|303295482}}|isbn=9798641924397}}</ref>


===Views===
===Views===
Yasin had a pan-Arab stance,<ref name=kost>{{cite book|author=Joseph Kostiner|editor1=Michael J. Cohen|editor2=Martin Kolinsky|location=London
Yasin had a pan-Arab stance,<ref name=kost>{{cite book|author=Joseph Kostiner|editor1=Michael J. Cohen|editor2=Martin Kolinsky|location=London
|title=Britain and the Middle East in the 1930s|year=1992|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-53514-1|pages=137–138|chapter=Britain and the Challenge of the Axis Powers in Arabia: The Decline of British-Saudi Cooperation in the 1930s|doi=10.1007/978-1-349-11880-9_8|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11880-9_8}}</ref> and one of his close companions was [[Rashid Rida]], founder and editor of an influential conservative Egyptian publication, ''[[Al-Manār (magazine)|Al Manar]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Commins|editor1=Bernard Haykel|year=2015
|title=Britain and the Middle East in the 1930s|year=1992|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-53514-1|pages=137–138|chapter=Britain and the Challenge of the Axis Powers in Arabia: The Decline of British-Saudi Cooperation in the 1930s|doi=10.1007/978-1-349-11880-9_8|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11880-9_8}}</ref> and one of his close companions was [[Rashid Rida]], founder and editor of an influential conservative Egyptian publication, ''[[Al-Manār (magazine)|Al Manar]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Commins|editor1=Bernard Haykel|year=2015
|editor2=Thomas Hegghammer|editor3=Stéphane Lacroix|title=Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change
|editor2=Thomas Hegghammer|editor3=Stéphane Lacroix|title=Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change|page=159|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|isbn=9781139047586|chapter=From Wahhabi to Salafi|s2cid=126609426
⚫
|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139047586|author-link=David Commins|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139047586}}</ref> As mentioned above Rida was one of Yasin's teachers.<ref>{{cite journal|author=U. Ryad|title=From an officer in the Ottoman army to a Muslim publicist and armament agent in Berlin: Zekî Hishmat Kirâm (1886–1946)|journal=Bibliotheca Orientalis|volume=63|issue=3–4|page=251|doi=10.2143/BIOR.63.3.2017973|hdl=1874/292753
|page=159|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|isbn=9781139047586|chapter=From Wahhabi to Salafi|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139047586
⚫
|year=2006}}</ref> Yasin was a major opponent of the close relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States,<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Bruce R. Nardulli|degree=PhD|url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1486549482669078&disposition=inline|title=Dance of Swords: U.S. Military Assistance to Saudi Arabia, 1942–1964|location=[[Ohio State University]]|year=2002}}</ref> and also, had an anti-British approaches.
⚫
|s2cid=126609426|author-link=David Commins|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139047586}}</ref> In fact, Rida was Yasin's teacher.<ref>{{cite journal|author=U. Ryad|title=From an officer in the Ottoman army to a Muslim publicist and armament agent in Berlin: Zekî Hishmat Kirâm (1886–1946)|journal=Bibliotheca Orientalis|volume=63|issue=3–4|page=251|hdl=1874/292753|doi=10.2143/BIOR.63.3.2017973|year=2006}}</ref> Yasin was a major opponent of the close relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States,<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Bruce R. Nardulli|degree=PhD
⚫
|url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1486549482669078&disposition=inline|title=Dance of Swords: U.S. Military Assistance to Saudi Arabia, 1942–1964|location=[[Ohio State University]]|year=2002}}</ref> and also, had an anti-British approaches.


==Personal life and death==
==Personal life and death==
Line 68: Line 66:


Yusuf Yasin died of [[cardiac arrest]] in [[Dhahran]] on 19 April 1962.<ref name=nata/><ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Vitalis|page=23|year=2007
Yusuf Yasin died of [[cardiac arrest]] in [[Dhahran]] on 19 April 1962.<ref name=nata/><ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Vitalis|page=23|year=2007
|title=America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZW4iR67-3U4C&pg=PR23|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8047-5446-0|location=Stanford, CA}}</ref>
|title=America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZW4iR67-3U4C&pg=PR23|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8047-5446-0|location=Stanford, CA}}</ref> However, an Egyptian newspaper ''[[Al-Akhbar (Egypt)|Al Akhbar]]'' reported that Yasin was badly injured in an assassination attempt and died one day after the incident.<ref name=ttim62>{{cite news|title=Death of Adviser to King Saud|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS135488152/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=f3945c2f|access-date=2 November 2023|work=[[The Times]]|issue=55373|date=24 April 1962|location=Cairo}}</ref>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
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[[Category:20th-century Saudi Arabian politicians]]
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[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:1962 deaths]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:State ministers of Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of Saudi Arabia|Yasin]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:People from Latakia]]
[[Category:People from Latakia]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian newspaper editors|Yasin]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian newspaper editors]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian people of Syrian descent|Yasin]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian people of Syrian descent]]
[[Category:Syrian expatriates in Saudi Arabia|Yasin]]
[[Category:Syrian expatriates in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni]]
[[Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni]]

Latest revision as of 11:47, 6 November 2024

Yusuf Yasin
Born1888
Latakia, Syria
Died19 April 1962 (aged 73–74)
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
NationalitySaudi Arabian
Alma materUniversity of Jerusalem
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • Royal adviser
Years active1920s–1958
Children8

Yusuf Yasin (also known as Yousuf Yassin; Arabic: يوسف ياسين; 1888 – 19 April 1962) was a Syrian journalist and politician who served in various capacities during the reign of King Abdulaziz and King Saud.[1] He was among the advisers of King Abdulaziz who were employed to improve the decision-making process of the state.[2] Yasin performed several roles in the Saudi government until his death in 1962.

Early life and education

[edit]

Yusuf Yasin was born in Latakia, Syria, in 1888.[1][3] His parents were Fatima bint Abdullah Jamal and Shaikh Mohammad Yasin, and his grandfather was Ali Al Masri, probably an Egyptian immigrant to Syria.[4]

Following religious education in Latakia Yasin graduated from the University of Jerusalem in 1911.[4] He was also educated in Cairo where one of his tutors was Rashid Rida.[5]

Career and activities

[edit]

Yasin worked as a teacher in Jerusalem in the Ottoman period and supported the pan-Arab views during World War I.[6] He served in the court of Amir Faisal, son of Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz between 1917 and 1918.[6] In 1920 Yasin began to work for Hussein bin Ali in Mecca who sent him to his another son Abdullah, Amir of Transjordan.[6] However, he left Abdullah's service just six months after his appointment.[6] Yasin cofounded a weekly nationalist newspaper in Jerusalem in 1921.[7] His business associate was Mohammad Kamil Al Budari, and their paper was entitled Al Sabah.[7]

Yasin left Syria due to the French occupation of the region due to his strong adherence to the independence of Syria and was part of a group called the Istiqlali network which also included another journalist Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli.[5] Yasin began to work for the House of Saud in 1923 or in 1924.[4][8] Shukri Al Quwatli, future president of Syria, was instrumental in Yasin's new career.[9][10] Yasin intended to work as a teacher for the sons of King Abdulaziz.[8] He first became the head of the political section of the royal court and private secretary to the King.[11]

Yasin contributed to the establishment of a weekly paper in Mecca, Umm Al Qura, in 1924 of which he became the first editor-in-chief.[4][5][12] The paper soon functioned as the official gazette of the country.[13] He was made the political secretary of King Abdulaziz in 1926 and then, appointed an adviser to him in the 1930s.[4] He was also head of the press bureau and accompanied the king in his meeting with Amir Faisal, King of Iraq, in February 1930.[14]

Yasin became a Saudi citizen on 29 December 1930.[4] He suggested the addition of the phrase al-Sa’udiyyah to the name of the country, Al-Mamlakah al-'Arabiyyah al-Sa’udiyyah, known as Saudi Arabia, in 1932.[3] In 1937 he was part of the Saudi delegation who visited London to attend the coronation of King George VI.[15] The same year while officially visiting Baghdad, Iraq, upon the request of King Abdulaziz Yasin attempted to contact with a German arms company owned by Otto Wolff to buy rifles.[16] There Yasin also met with Fritz Grobba, Nazi Germany's ambassador to Iraq.[17]

Yasin signed the extradition treaty between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on behalf of the latter that established the Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone in 1942.[11] The same year Yasin was the Saudi Arabian representative at the Arab League meeting in Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt.[6] He accompanied King Abdulaziz in his meeting with Franklin D. Roosevelt on 14 February 1945.[18] Yasin signed a treaty of amity on behalf of Saudi Arabia with the Republic of China on 15 November 1946.[19]

Yasin replaced Fuad Hamza as deputy foreign minister in 1951 when Hamza died.[6][20] Between 1952 and 1955 Yasin was responsible for Saudi activities in the Buraimi Oasis and was a member of the Buraimi Arbitration Tribunal.[21][22] Following the death of King Abdulaziz, Yasin served as the state minister and the advisor to King Saud, successor of the king.[23][24] It was Yusuf Yasin who made an inauguration speech at the meeting of the council of ministers in the Murabba Palace on 7 March 1954.[24] Yasin was removed from the post of deputy foreign minister by Crown Prince Faisal on 15 May 1958.[25] Yasin's role as an aide to King Saud continued until his death in April 1962.[26]

Views

[edit]

Yasin had a pan-Arab stance,[27] and one of his close companions was Rashid Rida, founder and editor of an influential conservative Egyptian publication, Al Manar.[28] As mentioned above Rida was one of Yasin's teachers.[29] Yasin was a major opponent of the close relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States,[30] and also, had an anti-British approaches.

Personal life and death

[edit]

Yasin married twice and had eight children, five sons and three daughters.[4] One of his sons, Anas Yasin, was Saudi ambassador to the United Nations, India, and Turkey.[4] His other son, Hassan Yasin, was the advisor to the former Saudi foreign minister Saud bin Faisal Al Saud.[4]

Yusuf Yasin died of cardiac arrest in Dhahran on 19 April 1962.[4][31] However, an Egyptian newspaper Al Akhbar reported that Yasin was badly injured in an assassination attempt and died one day after the incident.[26]

Legacy

[edit]

Joseph A. Kechichian wrote a book about Yusuf Yasin: The Arab Nationalist Advisor. Shaykh Yusuf Yassin of Sa’udi Arabia, which was released in December 2021.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Youssef Yassin; Saud bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia; Hafiz Wahba". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  2. ^ Joseph Kostiner (July 1985). "On Instruments and Their Designers: The Ikhwan of Najd and the Emergence of the Saudi State". Middle Eastern Studies. 21 (3): 315. doi:10.1080/00263208508700631.
  3. ^ a b c Joseph A. Kechichian. "The Arab Nationalist Advisor". Sussex. Middle East Studies. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Joseph A. Kechichian (21 January 2011). "Nationalist adviser". Gulf News. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Adam Mestyan (2023). Modern Arab Kingship: Remaking the Ottoman Political Order in the Interwar Middle East. Princeton, NJ; Oxford: Princeton University Press. pp. 176, 190. doi:10.1353/book.113384. ISBN 9780691249353. S2CID 260307818.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Shaikh Yusuf Yasin". The Times. No. 55374. 25 April 1962. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b Aida Ali Najjar (1975). The Arabic Press and Nationalism in Palestine, 1920-1948 (PhD thesis). Syracuse University. p. 65. ISBN 9781083851468. ProQuest 288060869.
  8. ^ a b D. van der Meulen (2018). Wells of Ibn Saud. Abingdon; New York: Routledge. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-317-84766-3.
  9. ^ Yossi Olmert (1996). "A false Dilemma? Syria and Lebanon's independence during the mandatory period". Middle Eastern Studies. 32 (3): 43. doi:10.1080/00263209608701118.
  10. ^ Sonoko Sunayama (2004). Syria and Saudi Arabia, 1978–1990; A Study of the Role of Shared Identities in Alliance-Making (PhD thesis). University of London. p. 29.
  11. ^ a b Sayed M. Hosni (October 1966). "The Partition of the Neutral Zone". American Journal of International Law. 60 (4): 735–749. doi:10.2307/2196925. JSTOR 2196925. S2CID 147323918.
  12. ^ C. C. Lewis (July 1933). "Ibn Sa'ūd and the Future of Arabia". International Affairs. 12 (4): 523. doi:10.2307/2603605. JSTOR 2603605.
  13. ^ "Umm al-Qurá, Number 591, 3 April 1936". World Digital Library. 3 April 1936. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Meeting of Arab Kings". The Times. No. 45415. Baghdad. 20 January 1930. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  15. ^ Jerald L. Thompson (December 1981). H. St. John Philby, Ibn Saud and Palestine (MA thesis). DTIC.
  16. ^ Basheer M. Nafi (Spring 1997). "The Arabs and the Axis: 1933–1940". Arab Studies Quarterly. 19 (2): 7. JSTOR 41858205.
  17. ^ R. Melka (October 1969). "Nazi Germany and the Palestine Question". Middle Eastern Studies. 5 (3): 225. doi:10.1080/00263206908700130. JSTOR 4282292.
  18. ^ "Charles Claftin sees History in the making". Acton Beacon. 17 August 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  19. ^ Norafidah Binti Ismail (August 2011). The Political and Economic Relations of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), 1949-2010 (PhD thesis). University of Exeter. p. 67. hdl:10036/3504.
  20. ^ Michael Quentin Morton (2015). "The Buraimi affair: oil prospecting and drawing the frontiers of Saudi Arabia". Asian Affairs. 46 (1): 9. doi:10.1080/03068374.2014.994960. S2CID 159991702.
  21. ^ Roderick Parkes (1966). "Notes on the Main Characters". Bloomsbury Collections. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  22. ^ J. B. Kelly (Summer 1992). "Arabian Frontiers and Anglo-American Relations". Government and Opposition. 27 (3): 368–384. doi:10.1111/j.1477-7053.1992.tb00417.x. S2CID 142203406.
  23. ^ Hermann Eilts (2004). "Saudi Arabia's Foreign Policy" (PDF). In L. Carl Brown (ed.). Diplomacy in the Middle East: The International Relations of Regional and Outside Powers. New York City: I.B. Tauris. p. 227. ISBN 1860648991.
  24. ^ a b Summer Scott Huyette (1984). Political Adaptation in Saudi Arabia: A Study of the Council of Ministers (PhD thesis). Columbia University. p. 135. ISBN 979-8-205-88566-9. ProQuest 303285259.
  25. ^ Gary Samuel Samore (1984). Royal Family Politics in Saudi Arabia (1953-1982) (PhD thesis). Harvard University. p. 120. ISBN 9798641924397. ProQuest 303295482.
  26. ^ a b "Death of Adviser to King Saud". The Times. No. 55373. Cairo. 24 April 1962. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  27. ^ Joseph Kostiner (1992). "Britain and the Challenge of the Axis Powers in Arabia: The Decline of British-Saudi Cooperation in the 1930s". In Michael J. Cohen; Martin Kolinsky (eds.). Britain and the Middle East in the 1930s. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 137–138. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-11880-9_8. ISBN 978-0-333-53514-1.
  28. ^ David Commins (2015). "From Wahhabi to Salafi". In Bernard Haykel; Thomas Hegghammer; Stéphane Lacroix (eds.). Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 159. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139047586. ISBN 9781139047586. S2CID 126609426.
  29. ^ U. Ryad (2006). "From an officer in the Ottoman army to a Muslim publicist and armament agent in Berlin: Zekî Hishmat Kirâm (1886–1946)". Bibliotheca Orientalis. 63 (3–4): 251. doi:10.2143/BIOR.63.3.2017973. hdl:1874/292753.
  30. ^ Bruce R. Nardulli (2002). Dance of Swords: U.S. Military Assistance to Saudi Arabia, 1942–1964 (PhD thesis). Ohio State University.
  31. ^ Robert Vitalis (2007). America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8047-5446-0.
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