Antoun Saadeh

Antoun Saadeh (أنطون سعادة; 1 March 1904 – 8 July 1949) was a Lebanese politician, sociologist, philosopher and writer who founded the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.

Saadeh was born in 1904 in Dhour El Choueir, in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.

He was the son of a Syrian Greek Orthodox Christian physician, Khalil Saadeh and Naifa Nassir Khneisser.

His father was himself a Syrian nationalist as well as democracy advocate, and also an intellectual and author, who has been described as "a prolific writer and polymath, whose works span the fields of politics, literature, journalism, novel-writing, and translation".

Antoun Saadeh completed his elementary education in his birth town and continued his studies at the Lycée des Frères in Cairo and came back to Lebanon at the death of his mother.

In the later part of 1919, Saadeh immigrated to the United States, where he resided for approximately one year with his uncle in Springer, New Mexico and worked at a local train station.

In February 1921, he moved to Brazil with his father, a prominent Arabic-language journalist.

In 1924, Saadeh founded a secret society to unify Natural Syria.

This society was dissolved the following year.

Natural Syria, according to Saadeh, included the Levant, Palestine, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and parts of Southern Turkey.

His concept of Syria included all religious, ethnic and linguistic groups in this region.

During his time in Brazil, Saadeh learned German and Russian.

Ultimately, he became a polyglot fluent in seven languages: Arabic, English, Portuguese, French, German, Spanish and Russian.

In July 1930, he returned to Lebanon.

In 1931, he wrote "A Love Tragedy", which was first published with his "Story of the Holiday of Our Lady of Sidnaya" in Beirut in 1933.

Also, in 1931, Saadeh worked at the daily newspaper Al-Ayyam; then, in 1932, he taught German at the American University of Beirut.

On 16 November 1932, Saadeh secretly founded the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.

In 1933, he continued to publish pamphlets in the Al-Majalia magazine in Beirut.

Three years later, on 16 November 1935, the party's existence was proclaimed, and Saadeh was arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment.

During his confinement, he wrote his first book, "The Rise of Nations".

He was released from prison early but was again detained in June 1936, where he wrote another book, "Principles Explained".

In November of the same year, he was released from prison, but in March 1937, he was arrested again.

During the time he spent in prison, he wrote his third book, "The Rise of the Syrian Nation", but his manuscript was confiscated, and the authorities refused to return it to him.

He was released from prison in late May 1937.

In November 1937, Saadeh founded the newspaper Al-Nahdhah.

Saadeh led the party until 1938.

Then, for the second time, he left the country to establish party branches in the Lebanese communities in South America.

Saadeh went to Brazil and founded the newspaper "New Syria".

Soon afterwards, he was arrested by the French colonial authorities and spent two months in prison.

In 1939, at the outbreak of World War II, Saadeh moved to Argentina, where he remained until 1947.

In Argentina, Saadeh continued his activities.

He founded Al-Zawba'a (The Storm) newspaper and wrote "The Struggle of the Intellect in Syrian Literature", which was printed in Buenos Aires.

In 1943, Saadeh married Juliette al-Mir and had three daughters with her.

The French colonial court sentenced him in absentia to twenty years of imprisonment.

Saadeh returned to Lebanon on 2 March 1947, following the country's independence from France.

After his return, he made a revolutionary speech, upon which the authorities issued an arrest warrant in force for seven months and withdrew.

In Lebanon, Saadeh founded the newspaper Al-Jil Al-Jadid.

On 4 July 1949, the party declared a revolution in Lebanon in retaliation for a series of provocations staged by the government of Lebanon against party members.

The revolt was suppressed and Saadeh travelled to Damascus to meet with Husni al-Za'im, the President of Syria at the time, who had previously agreed to support him.

However, he was handed over by al-Zai'm to the Lebanese authorities.