Bahij al-Khatib

Bahij al-Khatib بهيج الخطيب
Head of State of Syria
In office 10 July 1939 – 4 April 1941
Preceded by	Hashim al-Atassi
Succeeded by	Khalid al-Azm
Governor of Damascus
In office 6 February 1936 – 2 March 1936
Preceded by	Aref al-Khatib
Succeeded by	Tawfiq al-Hayani
Personal details
Born	1895 Shheem, Beirut Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Died	1981 (aged 85–86) Lebanon

Bahij al-Khatib (Arabic: بهيج الخطيب, romanized: Bahīj al-Khaṭīb;‎ 1895–1981) was a French-appointed Syrian Head of State from July 10, 1939 to April 4, 1941.

Early life

Al-Khatib was born in 1895 in Shheem, Chouf District, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Lebanon). He was educated at the Syria Protestant College and was an oil merchant in Beirut before entering politics.

Career

Al-Khatib was staunchly loyal to the continued French administration of Syria and opposed all aspirations for independence. He began his political career when he joined the civil service in Damascus after France imposed its League of Nations mandate over Syria and Lebanon in July 1920. Due to his loyalty to the French administration, he rose to be Director of Police and Public Security, and lead a campaign of intimidation and harassment of nationalist leaders and organizations. When the Nationalist Hashim al-Atassi, the first president of the newly declared Syrian Republic, resigned in protest over continued French prevarication against full independence, al-Khatib was appointed in his stead by the French authorities.

Syrian Demonstration against French Mandate in 1941, caused by economic hardships.

Due to his extreme unpopularity, he was eventually asked to resign by French president Charles de Gaulle in 1941.

Later on, Al-Khatib served as the Minister of Interior twice, and as the Governor of Damascus in 1943. He left Syria back to Lebanon after the Ba'ath Party took power in Syria. He died in 1981.