From Musaytbih to the Grand Serail

Beirut: Tammam Salam was born in 1945 to six-time Prime Minister Saeb Salam and Tamimah Rida Mardam-Bayk, the daughter of a leading Syrian family who marked the resistance against French occupation, and who added value to Saeb Bayk’s nationalist ideas. His grandfather, Salim Ali Salam, was the scion of a prominent Sunni family who played a prominent role under Ottoman rule.

Abu Ali, as he was known, worked hard to place Musaytbih, then a small hill area that housed several Western schools, on the local map. Always well groomed and impeccably dressed, the devout Muslim rejected fanaticism, projecting the sophisticated image of a quintessential moderniser. His daughter, Anbara Salam Al Khalidi, an educated woman who lived and studied in England, translated the Iliad and Odyssey, Homer’s classic studies, into Arabic. She became the first Muslim woman in Greater Syria to speak at a public forum, at the Women’s Renaissance Society in Beirut, without her veil. It was 1927 and she made history, and her brother, Saib, a graduate of the American University of Beirut, supported her.

Musaytbih, where Salam grew up, was a beehive of intellectual activities, as Abu Ali befriended leading Muslim and Christian figures, called on them informally, received them in his house, and taught his children self-confidence as well as the value of coexistence.

In time, Saeb Bayk launched his remarkable political career, and when French officials arrested Bisharah Al Khoury, Riad Al Sulh and several other nationalist leaders, Saeb Salam organised a popular insurrection from inside the parliament building where he was literally held hostage with Henri Pharaon. In a sheer moment of glory, he helped design the national flag in November 1943, and became one of the youngest “founding fathers” of independent Lebanon.

If the father was known for his patriotism, the son was equally motivated, not just as a zaim [chief] eager to guard a small turf, but someone who perceived Lebanon as an entity that could and ought to prosper.

Source of strength

Salam empathised with the country’s multi-religious population, considering the latter as a source of strength, and while his Arab nationalist feelings were intact, he was first and foremost a firm believer in Lebanon’s constitutional independence.

When his father fell out of favour with powerful political forces — in the 1958 war after he allied with Kamal Jumblatt against President Camille Chamoun and, once again, with Syria at the height of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon — Salam’s genius lay in breaking political impasses. Even if Saib Bayk was displaced as the de facto Sunni chieftain by Rafiq Hariri in the 1990s, Salam ensured a reconciliation between Hariri and his father, as the two men worked together to strengthen the Makassid charity.

Salam was first elected a member of parliament in 1996 but lost his seat in 2000 when he ran as an independent candidate against the growing Hariri electoral machine. Still, he never neglected intrinsic responsibilities and, in 2005, aligned with the Future Movement.

Although he never joined the party, he was appointed minister of culture in Fouad Siniora’s cabinet following the 2008 Doha Agreement and worked hard, in office and after he left the cabinet, to preserve the country’s archaeological marvels.

In 2009, Salam became a deputy for the Beirut III district, running as an independent on March 14’s list. Like his father, who transformed Musaytbih, the son was keenly aware of his priorities, which was Lebanon.

A moderate figure

An avid multi-lingual reader — in addition to superlative Arabic, he enjoyed near-native command of French and English — Salam knew what made his country unique and worth defending. His spouse Lama, an educated woman in her own right, was equally aware of Lebanon’s intrinsic values. Her critical work to restore the splendors of the National Museum — among other activities — spoke volumes.

Together, the Salams exuded moderation that, in Lebanon’s unhealthy political environment, was a necessity. Such temperament was rare and may yet prove useful in the upcoming phase.

His greatest challenge at the Grand Serail, ironically the imposing Ottoman build prime minister’s office that would make Abu Ali smile, was to translate a quiet personality to solve problems in a positive manner rather be confrontational.