Rushdi al-Kikhya

Rushdi al-Kikhya (Arabic: رشدي الكيخيا‎; 1899–1987) was a Syrian political leader who founded the People's party in 1948. Kikhya was elected as a Speaker of the Parliament of Syria between 1949 and 1951, and he was elected five terms as a member of the Syrian Parliament (MP) (1936, 1943, 1947, 1949 and 1954). Kikhiya also served as minister of interior in 1949.

Rushdi al-Kikhya
رشدي الكيخيا
Rushdi al-Kikhya in 1932
Speaker of the Parliament of Syria
In office
December 12, 1949 – June 23, 1951
Minister of Interior
In office
August 14, 1949 – December 12, 1949
Personal details
Born1899 (1899)
Aleppo, Syria
Died1987 (aged 87–88)
Nicosia, Cyprus
NationalitySyrian
Political partyPeople's Party, National Bloc
EducationSorbonne University
OccupationPolitician

Career

Rushdi al-Kikhya was born and raised in Aleppo and studied law at the Sorbonne in Paris.

In 1939, Kikhya clashed with the Bloc leadership, however, over their failure to prevent Turkey’s annexation of the Sanjak of Alexandretta, territory in northern Syria that had once been part of the Ottoman Empire.[1]

Kikhya joined Nazem al-Qudsi , also form Aleppo, and campaigned against the election of Shukri al-Quwatli, the National Bloc candidate for the presidency in 1943.[1] In 1948, Kikhiya founded the People's party with Nazem al-Qudsi and Mustafa bey Barmada.[2][3]

Khikhya supported the coup that ousted Husni al-Za'im in August 1949 and allied himself with Syria’s new leader, President Hashim al-Atasi. Khikhya became minister of interior in a cabinet headed by Atasi himself that lasted from August to December 1949. Khikhya then became chairman of the Constitutional Assembly that drafted a new constitution for Syria. In September, he became a deputy for Aleppo and was elected speaker of the parliament.[1]

The leadership of the People's Party including Khikhya pushed to form a union with Iraq, to curb any future Israeli eastward expansion. However, Khikhya withdrew from the political life upon the formation of the United Arab Republic in 1958.[4]

He died in 1987 in Nicosia, Cyprus, and was buried there.

References
  1. Moubayed, Sami M. (2006). Steel & Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900-2000. Cune Press. ISBN 978-1-885942-40-1.
  2. Rothe, Wenja (January 1972). "Hvorfor blive ved med at interessere sig for Rorschach prøven?: En kommentar og nogle overvejelser vedrørende førskolebørns Rorschachprøver". Nordisk Psykologi. 24 (4): 344–351. doi:10.1080/00291463.1972.11675812. ISSN 0029-1463.
  3. "Syrian History - People's Party founder Rushdi al-Kikhiya in 1958". www.syrianhistory.com. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  4. Ghada Hashem Talhami (2001). "Syria and the Palestinians: The Clash of Nationalisms". University Press of Florida. p. 52.
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