Image Source:
Bassel al-Atasi Archive
Hashem al-Atasi at the time was governor of Sahyoun, which was later renamed al-Hiffa in Syria. He rose through Ottoman ranks and served as prime minister and head of Syria's first parliament in 1919, then became president in 1936-1939, 1949-1951, and
1954-1955. He was later promoted to 1st degree under the Ottoman
Empire, earning him the honorific title of “Bey.”