Léon Sultan
Léon Sultan | |
|---|---|
ليون سلطان | |
 A portrait of Leon Sultan published with his obituary in Le Petit Marocain June 24, 1945.[1] | |
| Born | September 13, 1905 |
| Died | June 23, 1945 (aged 39) |
| Cause of death | Stroke from complications of an injury sustained in combat |
Léon Réne Sultan (Arabic: ليون سلطان; September 13, 1905 – June 23, 1945) was a French-Algerian lawyer and founder of the Communist Party of Morocco.[2][3][4][1]
Background
He was born to an Algerian Jewish family—one of 8 children—in Constantine, Algeria in 1905.[2][5] He was technically a French citizen due to the Crémieux Decree.[2] His father worked at the military factories in the city.[2]
Career
He studied at the College of Law of Algiers (Faculté de droit d’Alger), then from 1925 to 1929 practiced at his own law office in Constantine.[2] In 1929, he moved his practice to Casablanca, Morocco, where he joined young socialists and socialized with the city's Muslims as well as Jews.[2][5] He was fluent in Arabic and French.[4]
He was disbarred by the antisemitic French Vichy regime.[5][1]
Communist activity
In 1936, communist activity was legalized by the Popular Front government in France.[3] A branch of the French communist party was established in Morocco and based in Casablanca, and Léon Sultan served as its secretary.[3] It wasn't big, and it was made up almost exclusively of intellectuals.[3] Léon Sultan wrote articles for the Clarté, a weekly journal published by the group.[5][3] In 1939, the French communist party as well as its Moroccan branch were banned for Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.[3]
In 1943, communist activity resurged in Morocco, and Léon Sultan served as the first general secretary of the Communist Party of Morocco.[3]
He died in June 1945, and Ali Yata assumed leadership of the party.[3]
Military service
He enlisted as a volunteer to fight against the Nazis in WWII.[1] He was a lieutenant of the 5th regiment of Moroccan tirailleurs (infantrymen).[1] He participated in Alsace, along the Rhine, in the Palatinate Forest, Württemberg, Bavaria, and Austria, where he was injured on April 29, 1945, fighting on the front.[1] He continued to fight at the head of his section, not being hospitalized until May 11, 1945.[1]
Death
He returned to Casablanca in June, where was due to resume his recovery.[1] His return was celebrated by the Communist Party and other democratic organizations.[1] He died unexpectedly of a stroke from complications of his injury at the military hospital in Casablanca.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Le Petit Marocain". Gallica. 1945-06-24. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
- ^ a b c d e f "SULTAN Léon-René [Dictionnaire Algérie] - Maitron". maitron.univ-paris1.fr. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Busky, Donald F. (2002). Communism in History and Theory: Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-97733-7.
- ^ a b "Sultan, Léon René". doi:10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_sim_000782.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d Alma Heckman, “Sultan, Léon René”, in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Consulted online on 26 December 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_SIM_000782