Hashim al-Atassi

Hashim al-Atassi (1875–1960) was a Syrian politician and statesman from Homs, nicknamed Abu al-Jumhuriyya — Father of the Republic. He served as President of Syria three times (1936–1939, 1949–1951 and 1954–1955), formed the government twice, and presided over the Syrian National Congress of 1919–1920 and the Constituent Assembly of 1928, as a leading figure of the National Bloc's struggle for independence from the French Mandate. ^{1 2}

He was born in Homs to the large, landowning and politically active Atassi family; his father, Khaled al-Atassi, was mufti of Homs. He studied public administration at the Mekteb-i Mülkiye in Istanbul, graduating in 1893, and began his career in 1888 in the Ottoman vilayet of Beirut, serving over the years up to 1918 as governor of Homs, Hama, Baalbek, Anatolia and Jaffa. The sources disagree on his birth date: the English article gives 11 January 1875, while the Arabic article's lead gives 1873 and pairs his life with 1290–1380 AH, and Wikidata carries both years and a third value. ^{1 2 3}

After the Ottoman defeat in the First World War he was elected chairman of the Syrian National Congress, which on 8 March 1920 declared Syria independent as a constitutional monarchy under King Faisal; al-Atassi became prime minister in that short-lived kingdom before the French imposed their mandate. Under the mandate he became a leader of the National Bloc and presided over the Constituent Assembly in 1928. He was elected president for the first time, serving from 21 December 1936 to 7 July 1939. After the coups of 1949 he again became prime minister in August of that year and president in December, until Adib Shishakli's coup ended his term in December 1951; he returned as president a third time, from February 1954 to September 1955, restoring constitutional life. He died in Homs on 5 December 1960 according to the English article and Wikidata; the Arabic article gives 6 December 1960. ^{1 2}

The Arabic article's infobox gives his religion only as "Muslim", with no school named; the English and Urdu articles name no affiliation, and Wikidata carries no religion value. His father was mufti of Homs — a father's office is family background, not an attestation for the son. His faith is therefore recorded as unknown in his data record. ^{2 1 3}