A Syrian statesman. Qudsi was the most important political leader to emerge from Aleppo, a major city of Syria, which, for generations, had sat astride the trade route from Europe to Asia. It was Qudsi's enduring ambition to bring about a 'fertile crescent' union of Syria and Iraq. This was one of the principal aims of the People's Party he helped form in 1948, which largely represented business and landed interests, and which he led for much of his political career. Qudsi was the last president of his country in 1961-63 before a secret military committee, which included Hafiz al-Asad, seized power in the name of Ba'ath party in March 1963 and drove him in exile. Qudsi had a mild, scholarly, bespectacled appearance. He was an honourable, old-guard politician - a man of personal integrity, democratic instinct and internationalist outlook. He spent his years of exile in Lebanon, the south of France and latterly Jordan, the friend and respected counsellor of Arab kings and princes.