National Bloc (Syria)

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The National Bloc (الكتلة الوطنية) was a Syrian political party who rose in the fight for independence at the time of French Mandate of Syria.

The party was created after a national conference in 1928, by Ibrahim Hananu. It was not a structured party but rather a coalition of parties hostile to the French presence in Syria. The Bloc was led by notable conservatives, land owners, tradesmen, lawyers, etc. This coalition gathered the fifty most rich and powerful families of Syria.

The political involvement of these notable people is reminiscent of the political actions carried out in their youth against the Ottoman Empire. The National Bloc had no precise ideology, nor a social and economic agenda. Nevertheless, the objective which drove the movement forward was to return Syria's independence through diplomatic and non-violent actions. The party was dissolved in 1946.

[edit] Bibliography

• Pierre Guingamp, Hafez El Assad et le parti Baath en Syrie, Editions L'Harmattan, 1996, ISBN 2738446787