Saeb Salam (; 17 January 1905 – 21 January 2000) was a Lebanese politician and za'im (political boss) who served as Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973. Following his death, the Lebanese daily As-Safir described Salam as "most successful in dealing with the media and in presenting a particular image of himself to people on a daily basis through wearing his customary carnation ... and expounding unforgettable slogans", and that he was Lebanon's most popular prime minister after independence leader Riad Al Solh. A significant aspect of Salam was that, unlike other Lebanese leaders, he did not act as a chief over a particular area in the country. Salam fiercely advocated the unity of Lebanon. He was born on 17 January 1905.
His family was liberal in regard to religion and his sister, Anbara Salam Khalidy, was the first Lebanese Muslim woman, who did not wear the veil in public.
Salam was appointed oil minister by prime minister Abdallah Yafi in 1956, and negotiated deals the Aramco and Tapeline companies to connect the Zahrani and Baddawi refineries with oilfields in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. President Chamoun's support for the British, French, and Israeli invasion of Egypt during the Suez Crisis, however, led both Yafi and Salam to resign in protest. On 25 September 1957, Salam, Yafi and Hussein Oweini, who was also former prime minister, were indicted due to their alleged involvement in organizing an armed coup and rioting. He broke with President Chehab, however, over what he saw as the granting of undue powers to the police. During his mandate as a prime minister he participated at the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade, FPR Yugoslavia making Lebanon one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement. Throughout the 1960s he opposed the "police state" that he accused Chehab and his chosen successor, Charles Helou, of trying to establish, and in 1968 he spoke out against political interference by military intelligence. His opposition to Chehabist rule intensified, and in 1970, he helped to assemble a parliamentary coalition that elected Suleiman Frangieh to the presidency, by one vote, over the Chehabist candidate Elias Sarkis.
Frangieh appointed Salam prime minister for the fourth time on 13 October 1970. This administration, which lasted until 25 April 1973, was his longest. He fell out with Frangieh and resigned as prime minister in the wake of an Israeli commando raid in Beirut, which killed three Palestinian leaders, in protest against Frangieh's refusal to dismiss the army commander, General Iskandar Ghanem, for negligence. Salam declared that he would not accept the post of prime minister again. During the civil war Salam's motto was "One Lebanon, not two."
Out of office, Salam remained influential. In the wake of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, he mediated between the United States envoy, Philip Habib and the PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, securing the removal of the Palestinian military presence in Lebanon. He opposed the election to the Presidency of Bachir Gemayel, but was reconciled to him after the election and began working with him on a number of reform proposals. When Gemayel was assassinated on 14 September of that year, without having taken office, Salam supported his brother, Amine Gemayel, for the Presidency and persuaded most Muslim National Assembly members to vote for him. Salam retired from politics in 1992.
Exile and charity activities
In 1985, Salam went into exile in Geneva, Switzerland, after surviving two assassination attempts. He had angered the Syrian government and hardline Muslim groups with the conciliatory stands he had taken at peace conferences held at Geneva and Lausanne the year before, and he did not feel safe to return to Lebanon until 1994. From exile, however, he played a key role in the negotiations that led to the Taif Agreement of 1989, which eventually led to the end of the civil war. A noted philanthropist, Salam headed the Makassed foundation, an educational and healthcare charity, from 1957 to 1982, when he was succeeded by his son Tammam.
Personal life
In addition to Tammam, Salam had two other sons Faisal and Amr, and two daughters with his wife, Tamima Mardam Bey, whom he married in 1941. Mardam Bey was of Syrian origin and hails from Damascus.
Death
Salam died of a heart attack on 21 January 2000, 4 days after his 95th birthday.