1943 Syrian presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2026}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name =
| country = Syria
| flag_year = 1932
| type = presidential
| ongoing =
| previous_election = 1936 Syrian presidential election
| previous_year = 1936
| next_election = 1 Syrian presidential election
| next_year = 1948
| election_date = {{Start date|1943|08|17|df=y}}
| image1 = Portrait of Shukri al-Quwatli in 1943 (3×4 cropped).jpeg
| candidate1 = {{nowrap|[[Shukri al-Quwatli]]}}
| party1 = National Bloc (Syria)
| electoral_vote1 = ”’121”’
| percentage1 = ”’97.6%”’
| image2 =
| candidate2 = {{nowrap|}}
| party2 =
| electoral_vote2 =
| percentage2 =
| title = [[President of Syria|President]]
| before_election = [[Ata Bey al-Ayyubi|Ata al-Ayyubi]]
| before_party = Independent
| after_election = [[Shukri al-Quwatli]]
| after_party = National Bloc (Syria)
}}
The ”’1943 Syrian presidential election”’ was held on 17 August 1943, when the Syrian [[People’s Assembly of Syria|Chamber of Deputies]] elected [[Shukri al-Quwatli]] as [[President of Syria|President of the Syrian Republic]] by an overwhelming majority of 121 votes out of 124.<ref name=”source 1″>{{cite web |title=صحيفة 1943- انتخاب القوتلي رئيساً بأغلبية 121 من أصل 124 صوتاً |url=https://syrmh.com/2023/08/17/صحيفة-1943-انتخاب-القوتلي-رئيساً-بأغلبية-121/ |website=التاريخ السوري المعاصر |language=ar |date=17 August 2023}}</ref> The election followed the [[1943 Syrian parliamentary election]], in which the [[National Bloc (Syria)|National Bloc]] had secured a majority of seats in the parliament. Under the [[Syrian Constitution of 1930|Constitution of 1930]], the president was elected by parliament rather than by direct popular vote.

== Background ==

The incumbent head of state, Sheikh [[Taj al-Din al-Hasani]], died on 17 January 1943.<ref name=”source 2″>{{cite web |title=انتخاب شكري القوتلي رئيساً عام 1943 |url=https://syrmh.com/2017/09/05/انتخاب-شكري-القوتلي-رئيساً-في-1943/ |website=التاريخ السوري المعاصر |language=ar |date=5 September 2017}}</ref> His death intensified the Franco-British rivalry over Syria, with France keen to conclude a treaty with the Syrians whilst Britain supported the Syrian nationalist position of rejecting any treaty that would consolidate France’s standing in Syria and Lebanon.<ref name=”source 2″/>

On 25 March 1943, General [[Georges Catroux]] issued a decree ending the mandate of the [[Second al-Ulshi government|Jamil al-Ulshi government]] and appointed [[Ata Bey al-Ayyubi|Ata al-Ayyubi]] as head of state and head of the transitional government charged with overseeing the elections.<ref name=”source 2″/> The [[Second Ata al-Ayyubi government|Ayyubi government]] facilitated political parties, organisations, and groupings in launching their electoral campaigns.

Shukri al-Quwatli took an active role in securing a National Bloc majority in the Chamber of Deputies. On 9 May, accompanied by [[Faris al-Khoury]], he visited former President [[Hashim al-Atassi]] in Homs, where an understanding was reached on al-Quwatli’s candidacy for the presidency.<ref name=”source 2″/> Although it was a natural expectation that National Bloc president [[Hashim al-Atassi]] would assume the presidency, on the recommendation of other Bloc members he agreed to leave the highest office to Shukri al-Quwatli.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Atassi |first1=Karim |title=Syria, the strength of an Idea: the constitutional architectures of its political regimes |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781316635018}}</ref> Al-Quwatli subsequently visited Aleppo, holding extended meetings with leading figures there, though he was unable to secure their endorsement of his candidacy.<ref name=”source 2″/>

The campaign intensified following the announcement of the date for the elections. Hundreds of candidates’ portraits appeared across the country — in newspapers, on street walls — alongside dozens of electoral programmes and verses of poetry.<ref name=”source 2″/>

The National Bloc’s lists secured a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies.<ref name=”source 2″/>

== Election ==

On 17 August 1943, the [[3rd Chamber of Deputies of Syria|3rd Chamber of Deputies]] convened in the presence of the French representative in Syria, the British Minister, the American Minister, and representatives of the Arab states.<ref name=”source 2″/>

Al-Quwatli was elected President of the Syrian Republic with 121 votes out of 124.<ref name=”source 1″/>

== Al-Quwatli’s inaugural address ==

After his election, al-Quwatli addressed the chamber, thanking the deputies for the confidence they had placed in him to lead the country at a time he described as one of grave events filling the pages of history. He referenced the [[Atlantic Charter]] and its recognition of the life and freedom of peoples, and praised the Allied nations fighting in defence of that freedom. He expressed gratitude to France in the person of General de Gaulle, who had proclaimed Syria’s independence, and to Britain and the United States, which had recognised and helped bring about that independence. He extended warm greetings to the fraternal Arab states, represented by the consuls of Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia present in the chamber, and paid tribute to outgoing President Hashim al-Atassi, whom he described as having embodied the honour and dignity of Syria and the safeguarding of its rights during his presidency.<ref name=”source 1″/><ref name=”source 2″/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Presidents of Syria}}

[[Category:1943 elections in Asia]]
[[Category:Presidential elections in Syria]]
[[Category:French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon]]
[[Category:Indirect elections]]