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The Baath Arab Socialist Party (also spelled Ba'th or Ba'ath; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي Ḥizb al-Ba`ṯ al-`Arabī al-Ištirāki) was founded in 1947 as a radical, secular Arab nationalist political party. It functioned as a pan-Arab party with branches in different Arab countries (Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan), but was strongest in Syria and Iraq, coming to power in both countries in 1963. In 1966 the Syrian and Iraqi parties split into two rival organizations. Both Baath parties retained the same name, and maintain parallel structures in the Arab world.