- published: 06 Sep 2011
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Burhan Ghalioun (Arabic: برهان غليون) (born 11 February 1945 in Homs, Syria), is a French Syrian professor of sociology at the Université de Paris III Sorbonne University in Paris, and the first chairman of the Syrian opposition Transitional National Council (SNC). He was named chairman on 29 August 2011. His chairmanship was criticized for his perceived closeness to the Muslim Brotherhood, his early reluctance to arm opposition forces, and what opponents called the autocratic nature of his leadership. On 17 May 2012, feeling he had become an increasingly divisive figure for the council, Ghalioun resigned.
Born in Homs in 1945, Ghalioun is a Sunni Muslim. He studied sociology and philosophy at the University of Damascus. In 1969, he moved to Paris, where he received a PhD in social science from the University of Paris VIII and another in humanities from Sorbonne University. In the late 1970s, he made a name as an opponent of President Hafez Assad by publishing a pamphlet titled "A Manifesto for Democracy". Drawing on the tradition of the European Enlightenment, the pamphlet made the case that Arab states had become the enemies of their societies, and that democratic reform was needed to take back state power.
Burhan Ghalioun. January 2007
Alain Juppé et Burhan Ghalioun, président du Conseil national syrien (23.11.11)
Dr. Burhan Ghalioun, SNC President Address to The Nation (in Full HD with English subtitle)
Suhair Atassi, Burhan Ghalioun, Georges Sabra, sur le parvis de l'Hôtel de ville
Syria: Haitham al-Maleh and Burhan Ghalioun address European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs
Al-Bayanuni Unmasks the Syrian National Council and Burhan Ghalioun
Muslim Brotherhood: "We elected Burhan Ghalioun"
SNC President Dr. Burhan Ghalioun Addresses the Nation on Christmas and New Year
Burhan Ghalioun in Washington DC 7/23/2011
Burhan Ghalioun 2 oct Orient Tv