Akram al-Hawrani
Prior to the UAR period, Kahala served as a minor government bureaucrat and received engineering training in the United States. Kahala was initially appointed as the President of the Northern Region (Syria) Executive Council, but on 19 July 1960, President Gamal Abdel Nasser appointed him as Vice President in place of Akram al-Hawrani. He served alongside vice presidents Abdel Hakim Amer and Abdel Latif Boghdadi. On 20 September he was appointed the additional post of Planning Minister. He accompanied Nasser on a tour of Syrian cities in February.