Jim Saleam | |
|---|---|
.png) Saleam at anationalist rally in 2013 | |
| Chairman of theAustralia First Party | |
| Assumed office 18 July 2010 | |
| Deputy Chairman | Peter Schuback |
| Preceded by | Office established; Diane Teasdale (as President of theFederalAustralia First Party) |
| General Secretary of theAustralia First Party | |
| In office 19 December 2002 – August 2007 | |
| President | Diane Teasdale |
| Preceded by | No immediate predecessor |
| Succeeded by | No immediate successor |
| Leader of theNational Action Party | |
| In office 25 April 1982 – 11 June 1997 | |
| Deputy | Ross May |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| Succeeded by | Michael Brander |
| Deputy Leader of the National Socialist Party of Australia | |
| In office c. 1972 – 1975 Served with Ross May | |
| Leader | Ted Cawthron |
| Preceded by | Frank Molnar |
| Succeeded by | Party dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Saleam (1955-09-18)18 September 1955 (age 70) Maryborough, Queensland, Australia |
| Political party | Australia First (2002–07; 2010–present) |
| Other political affiliations | See list
|
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Tempe, New South Wales,Australia |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney (PhD) |
| Occupation |
|
| Known for | Far-right activism, foundingNational Action andAustralia First Party[2] |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal charge | Insurance fraud andproperty offences(1984)[3] Accessory before the fact(1991)[3] |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | The Other Radicalism Inquiry Into Contemporary Australian, Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organisation 1975-1995 (1999) |
James Saleam (/ˈseɪləm/; born 18 September 1955) is an Australian politician, academic,[4] andfar-right activist,[5][6] currently serving as the chairman of theAustralia First Party.[7][8][9] He came to prominence after foundingNational Action, a militantwhite nationalist organization active inSydney during the 1980s.[6][10]
The son of Lebanese immigrants to Australia,[11] Saleam attendedMaryborough State High School, where he developed his interest in politics and nationalism.[12] By 1970, he joined theNational Socialist Party of Australia and two years later he was arrested for the fire-bombing of aMaoist bookshop.[13] During the 70s, Saleam joined and founded minor nationalist organisations, and in 1982 he founded National Action.
Following the foundation of National Action, Saleam quickly gained national notoriety in theAustralian nationalist scene.[6] The organization advocated for a nationalist agenda and frequently engaged in tactics likedirect action.[6][14] National Action's activities often led to clashes with opposing groups and law enforcement. In 1989, while a member of said organization, Saleam was arrested for his involvement in orchestrating a shotgun attack on the home of anAfrican National Congress representative in Australia.[15]
Despite these setbacks, he continued to promote his nationalist ideology. In the late 1990s, after serving time in prison, Saleam obtained both anMA andPhD from theUniversity of Sydney by writing twotheses on thefar-right inAmerica andAustralia.[6] He would join theAustralia First Party in 2002, where he worked as the secretary of the Sydney branch. By 2010, he became the chairman of the party.[16] Under his leadership, the party has maintained a staunchly anti-immigration stance. Saleam has been a strong advocate of barring further immigration to preserve a "self-contained, predominantly white nation resistant to further immigration or watering-down of its culture", and has supported reintroducing theWhite Australia policy.[17][14]
Saleam was born and raised inMaryborough,Queensland, 18 September 1955, to a family of Lebanese immigrants.[18] His grandfather, George Saleam, was born inLebanon and fled his country at age 16, boarding a ship bound forAustralia.[12] After arriving to Marybourgh, George was classed as a white person.[12] Jim's parents divorced in the 1960s, when he was an eight-year-old.[12] After the break-up, his mother left with his sister to another town, leaving Saleam with his father. Saleam has described his father as anapolitical person, being not “academically minded or interested in politics or history”. However, he let his son read and study.[12]
Saleam attendedMaryborough State High School, which at the time worked as a segregated boys and girls high school. At the age of 15, Saleam developed his early interest in politics, writing to “every conceivable political organisation in the country”, both from theleft and theright.Malcolm Fraser’s election as PM led towards his exposure tonationalism andfar-right politics, after he realised “both sides were in cahoots and that there was a need for aradical third way”.[12] According to Dr. Michael Monsour, a local doctor from Saleam's hometown, he developed certain fascination with theNazis and was controversial for paintingswastikas and portraying theroman salute. Despite being a troublemaker, Saleam was also described as "academically gifted". His final school exams were passed with ease, earning him a scholarship to theUniversity of Queensland.[12]
In 1970, Saleam joined theNational Socialist Party of Australia.[13] His role as a regular contributor to party funding earned him the nickname of ‘Comrade Saleam’. He became an assistant editor ofStormtrooper and theNational Socialist Bulletin, where he often emphasised the ‘socialism’ in ‘National Socialism’.[19] As a NSPA militant, in 1972, Saleam firebombed afar-left,Maoist bookshop in Brisbane and, two years later, he was found guilty and arrested.[20] His sentence banned him from having any association with the NSPA.[12]
After his release from prison, Saleam moved to Sydney and enrolled at the Sydney University.[20] In 1975, inBrisbane, Saleam was pictured by anAustralasian Spartacist photographer in an anti-Pinochetdemonstration organized by the NSPA, wearing aswastika armband.[21][22] According to him, he would join back to the NSPA but as aninfiltrator as an attempt to prove the organization members were agents of the special branch of theQueensland police.[23]
OnAnzac Day 1982, he co-foundedNational Action (NA), which eventually collapsed due to Saleam's convictions for property offences and fraud in 1984, possession of a prohibited article - a large nail-studded club in 1985, and for organising ashotgun attack in 1989 onAfrican National Congress Australian representativeEddie Funde,[24] for which he served three and a half years in prison.[13][14][3]
After his release from prison, Saleam was awarded aPhD in politics from theUniversity of Sydney by writing a thesis entitledThe Other Radicalism: An Inquiry into Contemporary Australian Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organization 1975–1995 (submitted in December 1999).[25]
Saleam was affiliated with thePatriotic Youth League,[3][26] and has been seen associating withneo-Nazi skinheads.[22] In 2004, Saleam contested theNSW local government elections, and ran forMarrickville Council on an anti-refugee platform. In 2012, he ran for NSW local government election in theCity of Blue Mountains.[27][28][29]
Saleam was the Secretary of the Sydney branch of theAustralia First Party (AFP) between 2002 and 2007, when he became its chairman, and sought to re-establish the party. In July 2009, he announced that it had reached its target of 500 members and was registering theNew South Wales branch party with theAustralian Electoral Commission (AEC). The party was reregistered in mid-2010, in time to contest the2010 federal election.[30]
AFP contested the2013 federal election, Saleam standing in theseat of Cook on a platform to end refugee intakes, running againstScott Morrison. He received 617 votes, or 0.67% of the vote.[citation needed]
On 14 July 2015, the AEC deregistered the AFP due to its failure to demonstrate the required number of members. It was reregistered on 1 March 2016 as "Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated".[31]
Saleam stood at the2016 federal election in theseat of Lindsay and received 1068 votes or 1.2% of the vote. He stood for AFP in the2018 Longman by-election, receiving 709 votes or 0.8% of the vote.[32]
Saleam stood in the seat ofCootamundra, New South Wales, in the2017 by-election as an independent, though still a member of Australia First, as the party is not registered for state elections.[33] He received 453 votes, 1% of the total. He again stood in the seat at the2019 New South Wales state election as an independent, receiving 0.95% of the vote. Saleam's platform included the reintroduction of theWhite Australia policy and opposition to Chinese immigration.[34]
Saleam stood at the2019 federal election and the2025 federal election in theseat of Lindsay and received 1,372 votes or 1.41% of the vote in 2019 and 1,103 or 1.13% of the vote in 2025.[citation needed]
Saleam married Jane Mengler in 1987. They had two children and divorced in 1994.[1]
"Saleam was born [on September 18, 1955] in Maryborough, Queensland, of Lebanese migrant parents. He joined the Nazi Party (the National Socialist Party of Australia) in 1970. Two years later, aged 17, he was found guilty of fire-bombing a Maoist bookshop [East Wind] in Brisbane and put on a four-year good behavior bond"
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