Tammam Saeb Salam (, ; born 13 May 1945) is a Lebanese politician who was the

Prime Minister of Lebanon The prime minister of Lebanon, officially the president of the Council of Ministers, is the head of government and the head of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon. The prime minister is appointed by the president of Lebanon, with the consen ...

from February 2014 until December 2016. He also served as the acting

President of Lebanon The president of the Lebanese Republic () is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliament for a term of six years, which cannot be renewed immediately because they can only be renewed non-consecutively. By convention, ...

from May 2014 until October 2016 in his capacity as prime minister. He previously served in the

government of Lebanon Lebanon is a Parliamentary republic, parliamentary Democracy, democratic republic within the overall framework of Confessionalism (politics), confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserv ...

as minister of culture from 2008 to 2009. Salam was tasked with forming a new

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

on 6 April 2013. He was one of the independent

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

politicians who was close to the

March 14 Alliance The March 14 Alliance (), named after the date of the Cedar Revolution, was a coalition of political party, political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that were united by their anti-Ba'athist Syria, Assad stance and by their opp ...

, and also had good relations with the

March 8 Alliance The March 8 Alliance () is a loose coalition of political parties and independents in Lebanon formed in 2005 that are united by their pro- Ba'athist Syria stance and their opposition to the former March 14 Alliance. It was the ruling coalition ...

. Salam was appointed prime minister on 15 February 2014.

Early life and education

Salam was born into a prominent and politically powerful

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

family in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

on 13 May 1945. He is the eldest son of the former Lebanese Prime Minister

Saeb Salam Saeb Salam (17 January 1905 – 21 January 2000) () was a Lebanese politician, 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 ...

, who held the office several times since independence. His mother, Tamima Mardam Beik, is of

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

- Lebanese origin and hails from

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. His grandfather,

Salim Ali Salam Salim Ali Al-Salam (, also known as Abu Ali Salam; 1868–1938) was a prominent figure in Beirut at the turn of the 20th century who held numerous public positions, including deputy from Beirut to the Ottoman Parliament, President of the Munici ...

, was one of the Lebanese officials who served during the Ottoman era and French era. More specifically, he served as a Beirut deputy in the Ottoman parliament and was also the head of the Beirut municipality. Tammam Salam has two older sisters and two younger brothers. Tammam Salam is a graduate of Grand Lycée Franco-Libanais and

Haigazian University Haigazian University (; , pronounced ''Haygazyan Hamalsaran'') is a higher education institution founded in 1955 in Beirut, Lebanon as Haigazian College. For a brief period starting 1992, the name was changed to Haigazian University College befo ...

in Beirut. He also holds an economics and management degree which he received in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Early careers

Salam began his career as a businessman after graduation. He joined the political field at the beginning of the 1970s. He established the Pioneers of Reform Movement () in 1973. The objective of the movement was to follow a moderate policy amid the turmoil in the country. On the other hand, the movement was also regarded as the private militia group of Salam's father, Saeb Salam. However, the movement was dissolved by Tammam Salam at the initial phase of the

Lebanese civil war The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

in order to avoid being part of the militant activities. In 1978, he joined the Makassed foundation, a non-profit charity organization in Beirut as a board member. He became its president in 1982. The leadership of the foundation was passed through generations in the Salam family. Tammam Salam resigned as president of the Foundation in September 2000. He is currently the honorary president of the Foundation. Later, he also became the head of the Saeb Salam Foundation for culture and higher education.

Later politics

In the general elections of 1992, Salam was a candidate, but later he withdrew his candidacy as a protest over the Syrian dominance in Lebanon. His boycott aimed at supporting the

Lebanese Christians Christianity has a long and continuous history in Lebanon. Biblical scriptures show that Peter and Paul evangelized the Phoenicians, leading to the dawn of the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch. As such, Christianity in Lebanon is as old as Chri ...

in an attempt to preserve the sectarian balance in the country. Salam was first elected to the parliament in the 1996 elections from Beirut as an independent candidate. However Salam lost his seat in the general elections held in 2000. He did not run for office in the 2005 general elections. He was appointed minister of culture in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

led by Prime Minister

Fouad Siniora Fouad Siniora (; born 19 July 1943) is a Lebanese politician. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 2005 to 2009. He served as minister of Finance from 2000 to 2004. Early career In the 1970s, Sanioura ...

on 11 July 2008. Salam also won his seat in the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

held in 2009. He entered an electoral alliance with

Saad Hariri Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese people, Lebanese businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020. The son of Rafic Hariri, he ...

and became part of his list in Beirut's third district. Salam was an independent member of the Lebanese parliament. In addition, he was part of the Lebanon First bloc in the parliament, but not a member of any political party, making him a centrist figure. On 30 September 2015 President Tammam Salam addressed the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

during general debates, attended other events both within the UN and beyond, met with various world leaders.

Premiership

Secretary Kerry Meets With Lebanese Prime Minister Salam in Beirut

Following the resignation of

Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati (born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman who served as the 52nd prime minister of Lebanon from 2021 to 2025. He previously served in this post as the 48th and 45th prime minister from 2011 to 2014 and i ...

as prime minister on 23 March 2013, Salam was designated as a consensus prime minister. The 14 March Alliance officially nominated Salam as prime minister. Salam was tasked with forming a

on 6 April 2013 after garnering 124 votes out of 128 parliament members. On 15 February 2014, he announced the formation of a new government of 24 ministers. In 2014, Salam's cabinet took over the presidency, as per the constitution, since Parliament failed to elected a new one to succeed Michel Suleiman. Two years later, Michel Aoun was elected an took office, which led to his resignation and the forming of a new government.

Views

Following the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005, Salam said "Playing with emotions is a very dangerous game in Lebanon, a game which Hariri himself never subscribed to." referring to mass demonstrations blaming Syria for the assassination in the country.

Personal life

Salam is married to Lama Badreddine and has three children from a previous marriage.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Salam, Tammam 1945 births Living people Children of prime ministers of Lebanon Future Movement politicians Culture ministers of Lebanon Haigazian University alumni Independent politicians in Lebanon Lebanese people of Syrian descent Lebanese Sunni politicians Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Politicians from Beirut Prime ministers of Lebanon Tammam