The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party () was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means "rebirth," "resurrection," "restoration," or "renaissance" (reddyah). Its motto — "Unity, Liberty, Socialism" (wahda, hurriya, ishtirakiya) — refers to Arab unity, and freedom from non-Arab control and interference. Its ideology of Arab socialism is notably different in origins and practice from classical Marxism and is similar in outlook to 'third-worldism'.
The party was founded in 1940 by the Syrian intellectuals Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. It has established branches in different Arab countries, although it has only ever held power in Syria and Iraq. In Syria it held a monopoly on political power following the party's 1963 coup. Ba'athists also seized power in Iraq in 1963, but were deposed some months later. They returned to power in a 1968 coup and remained the sole party of government until the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Since the invasion, the party has been banned in Iraq.
In 1966, a coup d'état by the military against the historical leadership of Aflaq and Bitar led the Syrian and Iraqi parties to split into rival organizations — the Qotri (or regionalist) Syria-based party and the Qawmi (or nationalist) Iraq-based party. Both retained the Ba'ath name and parallel structures within the Arab world, but hostilities between them grew to the point that Ba'athist Syria became the only Arab government to support Iran (a non-Arabic nation) against Ba'athist Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War.
On 8 December 2024, Syrian opposition forces entered the Syrian capital Damascus, announcing the fall of the Syrian Ba'ath Party regime that had lasted for 53 years under the Assad family.
Major groups PartyFoundedDissolvedFounder(s)NotesArab Ba'ath19401947Zaki al-ArsuziThe party merged with the Arab Ba'ath Movement to form the Arab Ba'ath Party in 1947.Arab Ba'ath MovementMichel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-BitarThe direct predecessor to the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, it merged with the Arab Ba'ath to form the Arab Ba'ath Party in 1947.Ba'ath Party19471966Founded as the Arab Ba'ath Party, it later merged with the Arab Socialist Party in 1952 and renamed itself the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The party broke into two in 1966, between rival Baghdad and Damascus-based factions.
Regional branches Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction)RegionFoundedLeaderAlgeriaArab Socialist Ba'ath Party of Algeria1988Ahmed ChoutriBahrainNationalist Democratic Assembly1992Rasul al-JishiEgyptArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Egypt Region1991IraqArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region1951Salah Al-MukhtarJordanJordanian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party1948/1951Founded by a group of teachers.KuwaitArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Kuwait Region1955Faisal al-SaniLebanonSocialist Arab Lebanon Vanguard Party1966Abdel Majid Mohamed Tayeb RafeiLibyaLibyan Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party1954MauritaniaNational Vanguard Party1991Mohamed Ould Abdellahi Ould EyyePalestineArab Liberation Front1969Mahmoud IsmaelSahrawi Arab Democratic RepublicSahrawi Socialist Baath Party1995Najim OumejjoudSudanArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Region of Sudan1970Kamal BoladTunisiaTunisian Ba'ath Movement1988Omar Othman BelhadjSyriaArab Socialist Ba'ath1947YemenNational Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Yemen Region1955–1956Qassam Salam SaidBa'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction)RegionFoundedLeaderBahrainArab Socialist Ba'athIraqArab Socialist Ba'ath1966Mahmud al-Shaykh RadhiJordanArab Ba'ath Progressive Party1993Fuad DabbourLebanonArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Lebanon Region1949Fayez ShukrMauritaniaSocialist Democratic Unionist Party1994Mahfouz Weld al-AziziPalestineAs-Sa'iqa1966Farhan Abu Al-HayjaSudanArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Organization of Sudan1980at-Tijani Mustafa YassinSyriaArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region1943Bashar al-AssadTunisiaParty of the Democratic Arab VanguardKheireddine SouabniYemenArab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Yemen Region1951Mahmoud Abdul-Wahab Abdul-HamidSouth YemenPeople's Vanguard Party (Yemen)late 1950s
Splinter-groups PartyFoundedDissolvedFounder(s)NotesSocialist Lebanon19651970Ahmed BeydounThe party was merged into the Communist Action Organization in Lebanon in 1970.Arab Socialist Revolutionary Ba'ath Party19601962/63Abdullah RimawiArab Revolutionary Workers Party1966–Yasin al-HafizStill active, as of 2011Democratic Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party1980–Ibrahim MakhousIs part of the National Democratic Rally and still active in FranceSudanese Ba'ath Party2002–Mohamed Ali JadinWas established by a split inside the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Country of Sudan, the pro-Iraqi ba'ath branch.
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