Syrian Social Nationalist Party

The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) was founded by a Lebanese writer, Antoun Saadé, in 1932. It first operated underground and became public with the launch of the Al Majalla monthly newspaper distributed at the American University of Beirut in 1933. Based on an anticolonial stance, the party played a significant role in Lebanese politics, especially in the attempted coups d’états in 1949 and 1961. It was conceived as a secular, fascist-style party advocating for the creation of a “Greater Syria” that would include Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Cyprus and Palestine. The party has been a staunch supporter of the Assad regime in Syria.

The SSNP is currently represented by two Members of Parliament (Assaad Hardan and Salim Saadé) and a third affiliated MP (Albert Mansour). It has also held seats in most governments since 1990. Annahar's late CEO Ghassan Tueni and Addiyar's owner Charles Ayoub were both former members of SSNP. The party also used to own "Sabah El-Kheir" weekly magazine, which was issued from 1979 to 1988.