Munif al-Razzaz

Munif al-Razzaz (; 19 December 1919 – 16 September 1984) was a Jordanian-Syrian physician and politician who was the second, and last, Secretary General of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, having been elected to the post at the 8th National Congress held in April 1965. Munif relocated to Iraq in 1977 and became a leading member of the Iraqi Ba'ath. Munif was among dozens of dissidents accused of plotting against then new Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge. King Hussein had advocated for Munif's release so he can return safely to Jordan, but President Saddam Hussein adamantly refused. Munif died in 1984 during his house arrest in Baghdad. His family claims he was assassinated by the Iraqi Ba'ath after his hypertension medicine was replaced with poison. He was buried in Amman according to his only will. Biography Early years Razzaz was born in Damascus, Syria on 19 December 1919, but he was raised in Jordan. His family moved to Jordan in 1925 after his father, a veterinarian, was accused by the French colonial authorities in Syria of collaborating with the rebels during the Great Syrian Revolt by treating their injured horses. In 1937 Razzaz was given scholarship at the American University in Beirut after having spent a brief period studying in Cairo. He became a member of the Jordanian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in 1950. Razzaz was one of the co-founders of the Ba'athist Regional Branch in Jordan, and he promoted the Ba'athist ideology through his writings in national newspapers. From 1955 to 1957, the Jordanian Ba'athists were loud critics of King Hussein. Razzaz criticized the King Hussein's support of the Baghdad Pact, and his stance towards Gamal Abdel Nasser, the President of Egypt. Because of his anti-monarchy activities Razzaz was imprisoned in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960.