Lutfi al-Haffar

Lutfi al-Haffar (18 February 1885 – 4 February 1968) was a Syrian businessman and politician. He was a founding member of the National Bloc and served as Prime Minister of Syria in 1939.

Early career Al-Haffar was born into the wealthy merchant Damascene family of al-Haffar. His early career was mostly devoted to his family's business in trade. He joined the Damascus Chamber of Commerce in 1922, and became its deputy president in 1924. In 1923 in response to the water shortages in Damascus, al-Haffar established the Ayn al-Fijeh Waterworks Company, which pumped water from the Ayn al-Fijeh spring in the Ghouta area to the city of Damascus and constructed the first modern public water system in the city. The project was an immediate success, and allowed the water from the Barada river to be used for other purposes like irrigation.

Political career

French mandate Al-Haffar's involvement in politics came through his alliance with nationalist leader Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar. Shahbandar and Haffar founded the People's Party, which was the first political party in Syria under the French Mandate. The party advocated the unity of the region of Syria, and the abolition of the French Mandate. After the French bombardment of Damascus following the revolt, al-Haffar spearheaded a call to end armed resistance to the French in favor of political struggle.