Akram al-Hawrani
In 1959, the Syrian section of the Baath Party dissolved to leave room for the National Union, which was the only legal party within the United Arab Republic (a Syria-Egypt merger under Gamal Abdel Nasser's leadership). However, dissent over the union grew, and another conference, a year later, reversed the party's decision. When the UAR dissolved in 1961, the Baath Party struggled to reform its Syrian branch, but several groups broke away, including a Nasserist and pro-unionist tendency (which formed the Socialist Unionists, (SU)) and a strongly anti-Nasserist current under Akram al-Hawrani, who recreated his former ASP. Meanwhile, several other Nasserite and pro-Egyptian factions worked in opposition to the "separatist" government and demanded renewed union with Egypt.