Jamil al-Ulshi

He graduated from the Ottoman Military School in Istanbul .

He deserted from the Turkish army and joined the 1916 Arab uprising led by Hussein bin Ali .

After King Faisal I came to power in 1920, he was appointed the new monarch by the hoffmeister.

After the overthrow of Faisal by the French in July 1920, he remained in senior positions in the French mandated administration, occupying high positions in the government.

In September-November 1920 - Prime Minister of Syria. He quickly became completely loyal to the colonial authorities, while appointing his relatives to senior positions. French troops more and more deepened into Syria, causing discontent and uprisings of the local population. At the same time, popular discontent grew with the adaptive policies of al-Ursha. As a result, at the end of November 1920, he was forced to resign.

He remained out of politics until 1928 .

In 1928-1930 - Minister of Finance. However, he was again dismissed, in which he was until the beginning of the 40s.

In 1941, he was appointed adviser to the president of the pro-French politician Taj al-Din al-Hasani .

In 1943, at the suggestion of al-Hasani, he forms a government in which he gives several seats to representatives of the nationally oriented opposition in order to smooth out dissatisfaction with the president’s policies.

After the sudden death of al-Hasani in January 1943, he becomes acting Syrian President. However, it was precisely at this period that the peak of the population’s discontent with the government’s policies, raising taxes and prices, came to the aid of the French armed forces in Europe. Due to increasing criticism and popular protests, al-Ulshi was forced to resign.

This time he disappeared from big politics forever, until his death in 1951 .

• Sami Moubayed Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000 (Cune Press, Seattle, 2005).