abdul hamid al-sarraj

Volunteers in combat during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948
From left to right: Mohammad Attura, future director of Syrian Intelligence Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, and the Raqqa MP and prominent novelist Abdulsalam al-Ujayli.

President Shukri al-Quwatli with a group of Syrian officers in the 1950s
President Shukri al-Quwatli with a group of Syrian officers in the mid-1950s. He is shaking hands with Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, who was to become the director of intelligence in Syria.

Gamal Abdul Nasser with his new government at the gates of the Presidential Palace in Damascus in 1958
President Nasser is standing with Syrian and Egyptian cabinet members of the UAR. Second from left is the socialist leader Akram al-Hawrani, who became Vice-President of the UAR. Next to him is Abdul Latiff al-Baghdadi, the Egyptian Vice-President, followed by Nasser, Marshal Abdul Hakim Amer, who became Governor of Syria, and Sabri al-Asali, his other Syrian Vice-President. Then stands Fakhir al-Kayyali, the Minister of Economy. Standing to the far right is the Baath Party co-founder Salah al-Bitar. In the middle row, second from left, is Abdul Hamid Sarraj, who became Minister of Interior in the UAR.

Presidents Shukri al-Quwatli and Gamal Abdul Nasser at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in 1958
From left to right: Vice President of the UAR Akram al-Hawrani, President Gamal Abdul Nasser, President Shukri al-Quwatli, Vice President Abdul Latiff al-Baghdadi, Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj

President Gamal Abdul Nasser with the first Syrian Industry Minister Wajih al-Samman in 1960
From left to right: Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, Industry Minister Wajih al-Samman, President Gamal Abdul Nasser

President Gamal Abdul Nasser cheering to the masses in Damascus in 1958
Behind President Nasser is Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, and behind Sarraj stands Kamal Jumblatt, the MP and Lebanese leader who was an articulate and fervent Arab nationalist.

Lebanese MP Kamal Jumblatt visiting Gamal Abdul Nasser in Damascus, congratulating him on the Syrian-Egyptian union in 1958
From left to right: President Gamal Abdul Nasser, Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, Kamal Jumblatt

Mourners in the funeral of the late President Hashem al-Atasi in Homs in December 1960.
Second from left: Commander of the First Army, General Gamal Faisal, Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, unknown, Riad Hashem al-Atasi, Nour al-Din Kahaleh

President Gamal Abdul Nasser welcoming a delegation from the Women's Union in 1959
Fourth from left is President of the Women's Union Adila Bayhum, standing next to President Nasser, then Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj. Fourth from right is Qamar Shora, president of the Syrian Red Crescent

President Gamal Abdul Nasser parading into the Arab Mountain in 1958
Surrounding Nasser are his top officials in the United Arab Republic (UAR) Abdul Hakim Amer (left) and Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj

President Gamal Abdul Nasser with the Muslim clerics of Damascus in 1958
Second from left is Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmad Kaftaro and fourth is Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj

The telephone book of Syrian officer Mahmud Shatra, dating probably to 1954-1955
The phone book includes direct numbers of prominent figures like cabinet minister Abdul Baqi Nizam al-Din, Deputy-Chief of Staff Adnan al-Malki, and director of intelligence Abdul Hamid Sarraj.

Abdul Hamid Sarraj, the ex-Director of Intelligence, from his Cairo exile in 2010
Sarraj came to power as director of intelligence in 1954. He ruled with an iron grip, eliminating all of Gamal Abdul Nasser's opponents in Syria. He became Minister of Interior during the years of the United Arab Republic (UAR) but was arrested when a coup dissolved union on September 28, 1961. Sarraj escapted from jail and fled to Egypt, where he remained a guest of the Egyptian government under Presidents Gamal Abdul Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Husni Mubarak, and remains in Cairo after the January 25 Revolution. This is his first and only photo after leaving power in 1961.

President Gamal Abdul Nasser addressing Syrians from the balcony of the Presidential Palace in Damascus in February 1958
The address, announcing creation of the United Arab Republic (UAR) drew up a dramatically large crowd in Damascus. Standing behind him is director of Syrian intelligence Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, who became Minister of Interior in the UAR.

President Gamal Abdul Nasser greeting Syrian crowds from the balcony of the Presidential Palace in Damascus in February 1958
President Nasser was announcing formation of the Syrian-Egyptian Union, known as the United Arab Republic (UAR) during his first visit ever to Damascus. Standing behind him is director of Syrian intelligence Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, who became Minister of Interior in the UAR

President Gamal Abdul Nasser leaving President Shukri al-Quwatli's home in Damascus in February 1958
Standing before the two leaders is Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj, the director of Syrian intelligence. This photo was taken during Nasser's visit to Syria, where along with Quwatli, he announced creation of the United Arab Republic (UAR)

President Gamal Abdul Nasser touring Hama during the years of the United Arab Republic in 1959
Standing around him are Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj and Yassin Farjani the governor of Hama

Presidend Gamal Abdul Nasser visiting Jisr al-Shughour during years of the United Arab Republic in 1958
Fifth from left: Vice-President Akram al-Hawrani, Imam Mohammad Badr the Crown Prince of Yemen, President Gamal Abdul Nasser, President Josip Tito of Yugoslavia, Interior Minister Abdul Hamid al-Sarraj