Syrian Republic (1930-58)

Syrian Republic
République syrienne (French) الجمهورية السورية (Arabic) al-Jumhūrīyah as-Sūrīyah
Component of the Mandate of Syria and the Lebanon (1930–1946)
1930–1958
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem حُمَاةَ الدِّيَار "Ħumāt ad-Diyār" (English: "Guardians of the Homeland")
Territory of the Syrian Republic as proposed in the unratified Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1936. (Lebanon was not part of the plan). In 1938, Alexandretta was also excluded.
Capital		Damascus
Languages		Arabic French Syriac Armenian Kurdish Turkish
Religion		Islam Christianity Judaism Yezidism Druzism
Government		French Mandate (1930–1946) Parliamentary republic (1946–1951, 1954–1958) Military dictatorship (1951–1954)
High Commissioner
•	1930-1933 (first)	Auguste Ponsot
•	1944-1946 (last)	Étienne Beynet
President
•	1932-1936 (first)	Muhammad Ali al-Abid
•	1955-1958 (last)	Shukri al-Quwatli
Prime Minister
•	1932-1934 (first)	Haqqi al-Azm
•	1956-1958 (last)	Sabri al-Asali
Historical era		20th century
•	Republic formed	14 May 1930
•	Treaty of Independence	Mar–Sep 1936
•	Hatay State	1938
•	Syrian sovereignty / United Nations admission	24 October 1945
•	United Arab Republic	1 February 1958
Area
•	1938	189,880 km2 (73,310 sq mi)
•	1963	185,180 km2 (71,500 sq mi)
Population
•	1938 est.	2,721,379
Density		14/km2 (37/sq mi)
•	1963 est.	4,307,000
Density		23/km2 (60/sq mi)
Currency		Syrian pound
Preceded by Succeeded by State of Syria (1924–30) Alawite State Jabal al-Druze (state) United Arab Republic Hatay State
Today part of		Syria  Turkey  Israel (Occupied and de facto annexed Golan heights)

The Syrian Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية السورية‎‎ al-Jumhūrīyah as-Sūrīyah; French: République syrienne) was formed in 1930 as a component of the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon, succeeding the State of Syria. A treaty of independence was made in 1936 to grant independence to Syria and end official French rule, but the French parliament refused to accept the agreement. From 1940 to 1941, the Syrian Republic was under the control of Vichy France, and after the Allied invasion in 1941 became a sovereign state. In 1958, Syria joined with Egypt in forming the United Arab Republic.

The project of a new constitution was discussed by a Constituent Assembly elected in April 1928, but as the pro-independence National Bloc had won a majority and insisted on the insertion of several articles "that did not preserve the prerogatives of the mandatary power", the Assembly was dissolved on August 9, 1928. On May 14, 1930, the State of Syria was declared the Republic of Syria and a new Syrian constitution was promulgated by the French High Commissioner, in the same time as the Lebanese Constitution, the Règlement du Sandjak d'Alexandrette, the Statute of the Alawi Government, the Statute of the Jabal Druze State. A new flag was also mentioned in this constitution:

During December 1931 and January 1932, the first elections under the new constitution were held, under an electoral law providing for "the representation of religious minorities" as imposed by article 37 of the constitution. The National Bloc was in the minority in the new Chamber of deputies with only 16 deputies out of 70, due to intensive vote-rigging by the French authorities. Among the deputies were also three members of the Syrian Kurdish nationalist Xoybûn (Khoyboun) party, Khalil bey Ibn Ibrahim Pacha (Al-Jazira province), Mustafa bey Ibn Shahin (Jarabulus) and Hassan Aouni (Kurd Dagh). There were later in the year, from March 30 to April 6, "complementary elections".