Maarouf al-Dawalibi

Maarouf al-Dawalibi (; March 1909 – 15 January 2004), was a Syrian politician and was twice the prime minister of Syria. He was born in Aleppo, and held a Ph.D. in Law. He served as a minister of economy between 1949 and 1950, and was elected speaker of the parliament in 1951. He also served as minister of defense in 1954. After the Ba'ath party came to power in 1963, he was imprisoned and later exiled, serving as an adviser to several Saudi kings, including King Khalid. His son, Nofal al-Dawalibi, is involved in the Syrian Opposition.

Biography Maarouf al-Dawalibi was born in Aleppo. He received his early education in Aleppo and graduated from the University of Damascus with a B.A. in Law. He did his doctoral studies at the Sorbonne University on the Roman Law. a French woman who converted to Islam after marrying him.

First government (1951)

Al-Dawalibi emerged as head of government following a cabinet crisis in November 1951; this crisis was precipitated by the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan al-Hakim, which resulted in a power vacuum in Syria. President Hashim al-Atassi tasked Maarouf al-Dawalibi with forming a new government, and he took office as prime minister on 28 November.

In an effort to oppose military intervention in government, al-Dawalibi retained the defense portfolio for himself, declining to appoint Colonel Fawzi Selu to the post. He returned to Syria after the 1954 coup d'état, which led to the overthrow of the Shishakli regime. The presidency was once again occupied by Hashim al-Atassi, who promised to complete his constitutional term. In this position, he fought to reduce the army's influence in the government and advocated for a law that prohibited military officers from participating in political parties.

Second government (1961–1962)

Following Syria's secession from its union with Egypt in 1961, President Nazim al-Qudsi tasked al-Dawalibi to form a government.

On 28 March 1962, a coup attempt led by Abdul Karim al-Nahlawi culminated in the arrest of Prime Minister Maarouf al-Dawalibi and President Nazim al-Qudsi. A few days later, on 1 April, a counter-coup by loyalist officers freed the two leaders and restored them to their positions, but al-Dawalibi was forced to submit his resignation to avoid further conflict with the military. His first exile destination was Lebanon; after a brief stay in Beirut, he settled permanently in Saudi Arabia. to assist the Council of Islamic Ideology in drafting new Islamic legislation for the country. He initially wrote the laws in Arabic, which were subsequently translated into Urdu and English by a team of fifteen scholars. One of al-Dawalibi's contributions to Pakistan was the formulation of the 1979 Hudud Ordinances.

Maarouf al-Dawalibi died on 15 January 2004 in Riyadh. Since 2004, his remains have been buried in Al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina.