Khalil Mardam Bek

Khalil Mardam Bek (1313–1379 AH / 1895–1959 CE) was a Syrian poet, literary scholar, and statesman who served as president of the Arab Scientific Academy in Damascus and held several cabinet portfolios, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Education.Mujam al-Muallifin+1

Early Life and Education

Khalil ibn Ahmad Mukhtar Mardam Bek was born in Damascus.Mujam al-Muallifin+1 He received his early education at the al-Malik al-Zahir elementary school and subsequently attended preparatory school, learning Turkish alongside his basic studies.Mujam al-Muallifin+1 He pursued private lessons in Arabic language and grammar, and studied Islamic jurisprudence under Ata'ullah al-Kasm and hadith under Badr al-Din al-Hasani.Mujam al-Muallifin Later in life, he traveled to London and spent three years studying English language and literature at the University of London before returning to Damascus in 1929.Mujam al-Muallifin+1

Career and Public Offices

Under the post-Ottoman Arab government in Syria, Mardam Bek was appointed an examiner at the central correspondence bureau (Diwan al-Rasa'il al-Amma), taught composition at the government's school for civil servants, and served as assistant director of the prime ministerial bureau (Diwan al-Wuzara').Mujam al-Muallifin Following the French occupation of Damascus, he was dismissed from government service.Mujam al-Muallifin In 1921, he co-founded the Literary League (al-Rabitah al-Adabiyya) in Damascus and was chosen as its president.Mujam al-Muallifin After completing his studies in England, he taught Arabic literature at the National Scientific College (al-Kulliyya al-Ilmiyya al-Wataniyya) in Damascus for nine years, and co-founded the cultural periodical Majallat al-Thaqafa alongside Jamil Saliba, Kamil Ayyad, and Kazim al-Daghistani.Mujam al-Muallifin+1

Mardam Bek was elected a member of the Arab Scientific Academy in Damascus in 1925, and in 1941 he became its secretary-general.Mujam al-Muallifin+1 In 1942, he was appointed Minister of Education, returning to the Academy after the cabinet resigned, and later held the portfolio of Education and Health.Mujam al-Muallifin+1 He entered diplomatic service in 1951 as Syria's minister plenipotentiary in Baghdad, and in 1953 he became Minister of Foreign Affairs.Mujam al-Muallifin+1 Later that year, following the death of the Academy's first president, Muhammad Kurd Ali, Mardam Bek was elected president of the Arab Scientific Academy, a post he held for the rest of his life.al-Alam lil-Zirikli He was also elected a corresponding member of the Fu'ad I Academy in Cairo and the Iraqi Scientific Academy in Baghdad, an honorary member of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and a member of the Mediterranean Academy in Palermo and the editorial board of the Encyclopaedia of Islam.Mujam al-Muallifin+1

Scholarly Standing and Death

Mardam Bek was recognized among the prominent poets and prose writers of Damascus, combining classical poetic virtuosity with academic research and the editing of classical texts.al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1 His poetic output was gathered in his collected poems, Diwan Khalil Mardam, and he produced literary studies including Shu'ara' al-Sham fi al-Qarn al-Thalith (Poets of the Levant in the Third Century) and the five-volume biographical series A'immat al-Adab (Leaders of Literature).al-Alam lil-Zirikli

He died in Damascus on 15 Muharram 1379 AH (1959 CE) and was buried in his family cemetery near Bab al-Saghir.al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1