Luai al-Atassi
| Luai al-Atassi لؤي الأتاسي |
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| President of Syria | |
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In office 9 March 1963 – 27 July 1963 |
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| Preceded by | Nazim al-Kudsi |
| Succeeded by | Amin al-Hafiz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1926 Homs, Syria |
| Died | 2003 (aged 76–77) Homs, Syria |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Syria |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars | 1948 Arab-Israeli War |
Lu'ay al-Atassi (1926–November 2003) (Arabic: لؤي الأتاسي) was a senior commander in the Syrian Army and later the President of Syria between 9 March and 27 July 1963.
Atassi was born in Homs in 1926 to the politically prominent al-Atassi clan. He entered the officer corps after graduating from the Homs Military Academy in the mid-1940s, and fought during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War in Palestine. In 1954, President Hashim al-Atassi appointed him Chief of Military Protocol. He was transferred to Egypt, where he served as the assistant military attache in Cairo's Syrian embassy in 1956. There, he became a supporter of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his pan-Arabist policies. Atassi was among the Syrian officers who lobbied for unity with Egypt, which was realized in February 1958 with the formation of the United Arab Republic (UAR).
Atassi criticized Syria's secession from the union in September 1961 after a military coup in 1961. In April 1962 unionist officers led by Jassem Alwan staged an attempted coup against the government. Alwan, Hamad Ubayd and Muhammad Umran led the effort in Aleppo and Homs, while Atassi led the operation in Deir ez-Zor. According to historian Sami Moubayed, Atassi attempted to mediate a truce between the coup leaders and the government, but was unable. After the coup attempt, he was sent to the Syrian embassy in Washington D.C. to serve as the military attache. The officers were imprisoned and brought to military trial, where Atassi was recalled to testify against them, but refused out of his sympathies with officers. Atassi was consequently arrested and jailed in Damascus's Mezzeh Prison.
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