25 Facts About Salah Busir

Salah Masoud Busir was a Libyan politician, journalist, and historian.

Salah Busir was an advocate for Arab values and for the independence of Libya from Italy.

Salah Busir became the first Foreign Minister of the Libyan Arab Republic and sought to eliminate foreign military bases in Libya.

Salah Busir was born in 1925 in Benghazi into the family of a merchant.

Salah Busir was about six years old when, in 1931, Italian authorities captured and hanged sheikh Omar al-Mukhtar, who led the armed struggle for the independence of Libya.

When Salah Busir graduated from high school in Benghazi, his father refused to educate him in Libya and sent him to study abroad in the de facto independent Egypt.

Salah Busir quickly became one of the prominent figures among Libyan students at the university.

Salah Busir involved himself in politics and actively participated in meetings where the regime of fascist Italy was condemned.

Salah Busir, a fledgling journalist in Cairo, began giving speeches over the radio which were broadcast to Italian Libya.

Salah Busir denounced the policies of the fascist Italians and called on the people to begin a "holy war" against the Italians.

However, cooperation with the British was short-lived, and soon Salah Busir began to criticize the British occupation.

In December 1951, the country gained independence, and in February 1952 the now famous journalist Salah Busir was elected to the Chamber of Representatives of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Libya from the region of Cyrenaica.

Salah Busir was elected deputy chairman of the House and became one of the leaders of the Progressive Nationalists group.

Salah Busir's life was drastically altered in 1954, when the Al-Difaa was shut down by the authorities.

Salah Busir's family was close by, and money was being sent to him from Libya to maintain a standard of living.

Salah Busir sought to help the Libyans who found themselves in a difficult situation in Egypt.

Salah Busir helped the Palestinians fleeing to Egypt, and in 1968 he became one of the founders of the Islamic Committee, which organized education Palestinian students and incurred part of the cost of their education.

Salah Busir was to lead the Foreign Ministry of the new Republic.

Two weeks after his appointment, Salah Busir called the ambassadors of the United States and Great Britain and said that if it was confirmed that they were supplying Israel with tanks and other military equipment, Libya would have to reconsider its relationship with London and Washington.

Salah Busir served as Foreign Minister until October 16,1970, when he was replaced by a member of the Council of the Revolutionary Command, Major Mohammed Najm.

Salah Masoud Busir died on the morning of February 21,1973, in a plane crash, when the plane was shot down by an Israeli fighter over the Sinai Peninsula in the Ismailia region.

Some alleged that Salah Busir had become a target for Israel, and felt that the terrorist attack at Munich Olympics in 1972 was a way of avenging his death.

Salah Busir is revered in the Arab world as a sort of martyr.

Salah Busir was a married man and had two children, Muhammad and Fadwa Busir.

Salah Busir reconciled with Gaddafi in 2006 and attended Gaddafi's 37th anniversary in power that September.