Baath Party is an Arab nationalist party. Baath is Arabic for renaissance, or resurrection. It is also spelled Ba`ath. The party’s original goals combine three concepts: Arab unity, freedom from foreign occupation and interference, and economic socialism. The two largest party branches have been in Iraq and Syria.
In Syria, the Baath Party overthrew the government in a military coup d’état (armed takeover) in March 1963. After the coup, ideological disputes split the party into factions until 1970. That year, Hafez al-Assad (also spelled Hafiz al-Asad), a Baathist leader and commander of the air force, took power. He ruled until his death in 2000. His son, Bashar al-Assad (also spelled Bashar al-Asad), succeeded him as president.
In Iraq, the Baath Party participated in a coup in 1963 but later lost influence. In 1968, General Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr (also spelled Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr) led a Baathist coup and gained control of the government. Saddam Hussein was Bakr’s relative and quickly became his right-hand man. In 1979, Hussein established himself as undisputed leader. He ruled until 2003, when his regime collapsed in an invasion led by the United States. The Baath Party has been banned in Iraq, and a controversial commission removed members of the party from government, military, and civilian positions.
By 1970, the Syrian and Iraqi branches of the Baath Party were separate organizations. The Syrian branch has allowed other small political parties to operate in the country under a nationalist organization called the National Progressive Front. Loyalty to the leader is important in Syria, but in Iraq, Hussein developed a strict dictatorship.
The Baath Party was founded in the 1940’s by a group of secular (nonreligious) nationalist intellectuals led by Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Bitar. The party became official at its first congress in Damascus, Syria, in April 1947. In 1953, it merged with the Arab Socialist Party and became the Arab Socialist Baath Party. By the mid-1950’s, the party had established branches in other countries, including Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon.
