Atassi family

al-Atassi (Arabic: الأتاسي) is a prominent Syrian Arab family of Hashemite origin, descending from Husayn ibn Ali. The presence of the family in Homs, Syria dates back to the 15th century AD, during which the family's ancestors had arrived from Hadhramaut in Yemen after travelling through the Hejaz and Anatolia. In modern times, members of the family led the national movement against the French mandate. The power and prestige of the family reached an apex at the formation of the modern Republic of Syria in 1936, when its second head of state, Hashim al-Atassi was elected president. Two out of the seven members of the constitutional assembly who drafted the first constitution of Syria in 1919 were prominent scions of the al-Atassi family, Wasfi al-Atassi and Hashim al-Atassi. Two more scions, Lu'ay al-Atassi and Nureddin al-Atassi, were in turn installed as heads of state in the 1960s. Family members included magistrates, governors, ambassadors, heads of political parties, military officers and other public officials throughout Ottoman and modern times.