Daniel Nehme, a member of the central leadership of Syria's ruling political coalition, has died at the age of 78, according to SANA news agency.
In its Sunday report, SANA said Nehme, appointed a leading member of the National Progressive Front in 1972, died late Saturday from a heart ailment at the Shifaa hospital in the capital of Damascus.
The National Progressive Front is made up of seven political parties, including the Baath Party of President Bashar Al-Assad. Nehme was also a member of the politburo of Syria's Communist Party.
Nehme joined the Communist Party in 1944. A year later, he graduated from Damascus University and began practicing law in Latakia. As a communist, he was jailed several times, once for three years of hard labor starting in 1951.
He had also worked as the editor-in-chief of the Communist Party's al-Nour magazine.
Nehme will be buried on Monday in Mashtal Hilo village near Tartous, around 144 miles northwest of Damascus. He is survived by his wife, their four sons and two daughters. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
