1949 Syrian coup d'état

Bloodless military coup on 30 March 1949, the first in modern Syrian history, led by army chief of staff Husni al-Za'im. It overthrew Syria's democratically elected government and its president, Shukri al-Quwatli, who was blamed for poor leadership in the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict; al-Za'im became president on 11 April while al-Quwatli was briefly imprisoned and then exiled to Egypt.