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Salah al-Din al-Bitar

Ottoman

Salah al-Din al-Bitar was a Syrian politician who co-founded the Baʿath Party with Michel Aflaq in the early 1940s. As students in Paris in the early 1930s, the two formulated a doctrine that combined aspects of nationalism and socialism. Bitar later served as prime minister in several early Ba'athist governments in Syria but became alienated from the party as it grew more radical. In 1966 he fled the country, lived mostly in Europe and remained politically active until he was assassinated in Paris in 1980 by unidentified hitmen linked to the regime of Hafez al-Assad.

Connection to Damascus

Born in Damascus; studied with Aflaq at the Sorbonne; co-founded the Ba'ath Party in Damascus.

Known for

Co-founder of the Ba'ath Party; served as prime minister of Syria multiple times.

Lifespan

1912-01-01 – 1980-07-21

Biography

Salah al-Din al-Bitar was a Syrian politician who co-founded the Baʿath Party with Michel Aflaq in the early 1940s. As students in Paris in the early 1930s, the two formulated a doctrine that combined aspects of nationalism and socialism. Bitar later served as prime minister in several early Ba'athist governments in Syria but became alienated from the party as it grew more radical. In 1966 he fled the country, lived mostly in Europe and remained politically active until he was assassinated in Paris in 1980 by unidentified hitmen linked to the regime of Hafez al-Assad.