Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam
| Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam عبد الرحمن حسن عزام |
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|---|---|
| 1st Secretary-General of the Arab League | |
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In office 22 March 1945 – September 1952 |
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| Preceded by | Inaugural holder |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Khalek Hassouna |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 March 1893 Shubak al-Gharbi, Egypt |
| Died | 2 June 1976 (aged 83) |
Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam (Arabic: عبد الرحمن حسن عزام) (1893–1976), also known as Azzam Pasha, was an Egyptian diplomat and politician. He was the first secretary-general of the Arab League, from 22 March 1945 to September 1952.
Azzam also had a long career as an ambassador and parliamentarian. He was an Egyptian nationalist, one of the foremost proponents of pan-Arab idealism, and opposed the partition of Palestine.
Abd al-Rahman Azzam's father, Hassan Bey, was born into an Arab family which became prominent during the first half of the nineteenth century in Shubak al-Gharbi, a village near Helwan (south of Cairo). His grandfather, Salim Ali Azzam, was one of the first Arabs to become director of the southern Giza Governorate; his father, Hassan Salim Azzam, was also active in many regional governing bodies. Azzam's mother, Nabiha, was also descended from a distinguished family. Her father, Khalaf al-Saudi, was a landowner and shaykh and her mother's family descended from several Arabian Peninsula tribes.
According to biographer Ralph Coury, scholars and others have concluded that Azzam's "Peninsular" origins explain his later assumption of Arab identity. As early as 1923, a British official wrote: "The Azzam family, though settled in Egypt for some generations, come of good old Arab stock, and have always clung tenaciously to Arab traditions and ideals of life", adding, "in estimating Abdul Rahman's character, his early up-bringing and his Arab blood must never be forgotten." However, Coury writes that the Azzams were completely assimilated into village life and did not see themselves as different from other Egyptians. Azzam once said, "We were not brought up with a strong consciousness of Bedouin descent. We were Arabs because we were 'sons' or 'children' of the Arabs in contrast to the Turks, but the term 'Arab' as such was used for the Bedouin and we would not apply it to one another."
Abd al-Rahman Azzam, the eighth of twelve children, was born on March 8, 1893 in Shubak al-Gharbi. His family were fellahin dhwati ("notable peasants"), whose position was determined by land, wealth, and political power. The Azzam household was frequently home to gatherings of the village elite, and he developed an interest in politics at an early age. According to his brother, Abd al-Aziz Azzam, Azzam was a "born politician" who would stand at the top of the stairs as a child and give political speeches to his siblings.
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