Subhi Bey Barakat
Subhi Bey Barakat al-Khalidi or Suphi Bereket (Arabic: صبحي بك بركات الخالدي; Turkish: Suphi Bereket; 1889–1939) was a Turkish politician from Antakya. During the French Mandate of Syria, he was the president of the Syrian Federation from 29 June 1922 (the day following its creation) to 1 January 1925 and of the State of Syria from 1 January 1925 to 21 December 1925. Also, between 1938 and 1939, he served as the Antakya deputy of the Republic of Hatay and was elected to the Internal Affairs Committee.
Subhi Bey Barakat al-Khalidi | |
|---|---|
صبحي بك بركات الخالدي | |
| 1st President of the Syrian Federation and the State of Syria under the French Mandate | |
| In office 29 June 1922 – 21 December 1925 | |
| Preceded by | Faisal I (As King of Syria) |
| Succeeded by | François Pierre-Alype |
| 4th Prime Minister of Syria | |
| In office 26 January 1925 – 21 December 1925 | |
| Preceded by | Jamil al-Ulshi |
| Succeeded by | Ahmad Nami |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Suphi Bereket 1889 Antakya, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 1939 (aged 49–50) Antakya, Turkey |
| Political party | Independent |
Part of the reason the French supported his candidacy as president of the Syrian Federation was because as neither a native of Damascus nor a very strong Arabic speaker (Turkish was his mother tongue), he did not seem to pose a nationalist threat to French rule.
Initially, he was a partner of Ibrahim Hanano in his revolt. He played a major role in merging the States of Aleppo and Damascus into one state, and he quit the presidency of Syria in 1925 in protest to the French position regarding the fate of the Alawite and Druze States, which France refused to add to Syria because it feared that might endanger the independence of the newly created Lebanon.