Akram al-Hawrani
The party was founded on 7 April 1947 as the Arab Ba'ath Party by Michel Aflaq (an Antiochian Christian), Salah al-Din al-Bitar (a Sunni Muslim), and the followers of Zaki al-Arsuzi (an atheist) in Damascus, Syria, leading to the establishment of the Syrian Regional Branch. Other regional branches were established throughout the Arab world in the later 1940s and early 1950s, in, among others, Iraq, Yemen and Jordan. Throughout its existence, the National Command (the body responsible for all-Arab affairs), gave most attention to Syrian affairs. The 2nd National Congress was convened in June 1954, and elected a seven-man National Command; Aflaq, Bitar, and Akram al-Hawrani were elected and represented the Syrian Regional Branch, while Abdullah Rimawi and Abdallah Na'was were elected to represent the Jordanian Branch. The congress is notable for sanctioning the merger of the Arab Socialist Movement and the Ba'ath Party, which took place in 1952.