Nazim al-Qudsi (; 14 February 1906 – 6 February 1998), was a Syrian politician who served as President of Syria from 14 December 1961 to 8 March 1963. Early life and education Al-Qudsi was born in Aleppo on 14 February 1906. After receiving his high school degree from the Aleppo American College, Qudsi obtained his law degree from Damascus University. He later received a master's degree from the American University of Beirut (AUB), and PhD from the University of Geneva's Graduate Institute of International Studies. Early career After his education, Qudsi returned to Syria in 1935 and joined the National Bloc, the leading anti-French independence movement, and became one of its prominent members in Aleppo. It was a political organization which sought to emancipate Syria from French control through diplomatic means rather than armed resistance. In 1936, he ran for parliament on a National Bloc ticket and won. He clashed with the Bloc leadership that failed to prevent the annexation of Alexandretta to Turkey in 1939. As a result, he resigned from the Bloc ranks. Qudsi created a coalition of Aleppine intellectuals around himself and Rushdi al-Kikhya, another lawyer who shared in his views, and the two men nominated themselves for Parliament in 1943, winning with ease. They lobbied against the election of Shukri al-Quwatli, a National Bloc leader, as president, but Quwatli was voted into office in August 1943. To appease the opposition, the new President appointed Qudsi as Syria's first Ambassador to the United States. Qudsi founded the Syrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. from scratch, and on 19 March 1945 presented his credentials to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1947, he and Rushdi al-Kikhya founded the People's Party in Aleppo. It was inaugurated as an opposition movement to the Quwatli regime and created to counterbalance the political weight of the National Party, the successor to the National Bloc, loyal to Quwatli. The People's Party founders were mainly notables from Aleppo who aimed at creating union between Syria and Iraq, maintaining a democratic government, and advocating stronger ties with the West. The Hashemite royal family in Baghdad supported the party and funded many of its activities. In 1947, Qudsi ran for Parliament on a party ticket and won. His election was repeated in 1949, 1954, and 1962. He voted against the re-election of Quwatli as president, but a parliamentary majority pushed through the election. On 29 March 1949, the