ABSTRACT
In the last central government of the United Arab Republic in 1961, there were only six Syrians: Noureddine Kahale as Minister of Planning, Fakher Kayali as Minister of Justice, Mohammed Alem as Minister of Communications, Sabet el-Ariss as Minister of National Guidance, Tumeh el-Awdatallah as Minister for Affairs of Rural Communities, and finally Abdel Hamid Sarraj as Minister of State. The Syrian ministers had relatively little political influence in Cairo, being given technical tasks. The links between Syria and Egypt were mainly of a personal nature, as might be expected in the Arab states where politics are dominated by personalities not ideologies. The fact that Nasser’s representative in Syria had close connections with the police was reflected in the atmosphere of the country. By 1960 the communists had completely vanished in Syria.
