Nizar Qabbani was a Syrian writer, diplomat, publisher, and poet. Renowned for incorporating themes like eroticism, religion, love, feminism, and Arab nationalism into his poetry, Qabbani's poems have achieved worldwide acclaim; they have been translated into many languages, including English and Russian. Regarded as Syria's National Poet, Qabbani is also one of the most respected poets in the Arab world.
A prominent Sunni Islamist cleric from Syria, Omar Bakri Muhammad had a significant contribution to the development of the pan-Islamist fundamental organization Hizb ut-Tahrir in the UK. He later switched to the Saudi Arabia-based militant group Al-Muhajiroun. He eventually fled to Lebanon, where he was sentenced to prison for terrorism.
Syrian politician and former military personnel Rifaat Ali al-Assad, brother of late President of Syria, Hafez Assad, and uncle of current President Bashar al-Assad, served as Vice President of Syria from March 1984 to February 1998. According to some sources, he allegedly supervised Hama massacre (1982), carried out by the Syrian Army, resulting in suppression of Islamist insurgency in Syria.
Initially a lawyer, Nazim al-Kudsi later stepped into politics, joining the National Bloc and then the People's Party. He went from being the Speaker of the Syrian Parliament to being the Syrian ambassador to the US, and eventually leading the nation as the prime minister and then as the president.
Syrian politician Salah al-Din al-Bitar, a noted theorist of Arab democratic nationalism, co-founded the Arab Ba'ath Party that espoused Baʿathism. al-Bitar served thrice as Prime Minister of Syria in Ba'athist governments, but later had differences with younger members of the party that grew more radical. He left Syria, lived in exile, however remained politically active till his assassination in 1980.
Expelled from law school due to illegal political activities, Syrian politician Khalid Bakdash later joined the Communist Party. He was jailed by the French but eventually emerged as the first Communist leader to be elected to an Arab parliament. He later had a tiff with fellow Communist leader Yusuf Faisal.