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Michel Aflaq
Arabic: mishal 'aflâq
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(1910- 89) Syrian socialist politician and thinker.
Aflaq was a
fairly moderate politician, who in many cases had to accept that most of the grand parts of his ideology never was realized,
like freedom of speech and Arab unity. From the early stages of his political activities until his old days, he had to change
many ideas, simply from realizing that real-life politics demanded compromises.
BIOGRAPHY
1910:
Born in Damascus into a Greek Orthodox family.
Early 1930s: Is educated at the University of Sorbonne in Paris, France.
1934:
Returns to Damascus, and starts to teach at a secondary school.
1940: Establishes a study circle together with Salah al-Din Bitar which they call Movement of Arab Renaissance, in Arabic Ba'th.
1942: Aflaq starts to devote himself full-time to
politics.
1947 April: Aflaq is elected senior member of the executive committee of the newly established
Arab Ba'th Party.
1949 August: Aflaq is appointed minister of education.
After he fails to win a seat in the general elections,
Aflaq resigns.
1952: Flees to Lebanon in order to avoid arrest by the new regime of Syria.
1954: Aflaq
returns to Syria, and leads the merger with the Arab Socialist Party, and becomes secretary-general of the new party.
1966
February: Following a conflict inside the Ba'th Party, Aflaq finds himself on the weaker side, and leaves for Lebanon.
1967:
Moves to Brazil.
1968: Aflaq is invited to Iraq, following the Ba'th coup there. He then resumed his leadership over the Ba'th Party.
1970: As a protest against
the lack of support from the Ba'th regime of Baghdad for the Palestinians in their fight against the Jordanian military, Aflaq once again leaves for Lebanon.
1974: Returns to Baghdad, in order to lead the National Command
of the party. He was officially highly respected, but soon had to realize that he had minimal impact on the Iraqi politics.
1989:
Aflaq dies in Baghdad, and Iraqi media claims that he had converted to Islam shortly before his death.
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