Abd al-Rahman al-Kayyali

Abd al-Rahman al-Kayyali (; 1887 – 13 September 1969) was a physician from the city of Aleppo and member of the Syrian independence movement who served as the Minister of Justice and Education for two terms.

Biography Born in Aleppo, al-Kayyali studied medicine at the Lebanese American University and graduated in 1914. Upon the emergence of WWI, he served as a medic in the Ottoman Army in Al-Hamraa, Hama Governorate.

Later on, he joined the National Bloc, in which he became a member of Parliament in 1928, 1936 and 1943. In the meantime, he served as the Minister of Justice and Education during the premiership of Jamil Mardam Bey, Saadallah al-Jabiri and Faris al-Khoury, from 1936 to 1939 and from 1943 to 1945.

Al-Kayyali died on 13 September 1969.

Legacy As a representative of the Aleppan bourgeoisie and a nationalist activist, al-Kayyali built strong ties with leaders of Syria's first independence movement, including Ibrahim Hananu, leader of the so-called Hananu Revolt against French rule. Kayyali can be considered one of the most prestigious citizens of Aleppo of his time and a Western educated proponent of anti-colonial nationalist ideology.

One of al-Kayyali's grandsons, the dentist Mustafa Kayali (or Al-Kayyali), emerged as a prominent civil society activist during the Syrian revolution and was, according to media reports, among the authors of a document known as the "Code of Conduct for Syrian Coexistence" in 2017, endorsed by various Syrian community leaders.