Jim Saleam

Jim Saleam
Saleam at a nationalist rally, 2013
Chairman of the Australia First Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 July 2010
Deputy ChairmanPeter Schuback
Preceded byOffice established;
Diane Teasdale
(as President of the Federal Australia First Party)
General Secretary
of the Australia First Party
In office
19 December 2002 – August 2007
PresidentDiane Teasdale
Preceded byNo immediate predecessor
Succeeded byNo immediate successor
Leader of the National Action Party
In office
25 April 1982 – 11 June 1997
DeputyRoss May
Preceded byParty established
Succeeded byMichael Brander
Deputy Leader of the
National Socialist Party of Australia
In office
c. 1972 – 1975
Served with Ross May
LeaderTed Cawthron
Preceded byFrank Molnar
Succeeded byParty dissolved
Personal details
Born
James Saleam

(1955-09-18) 18 September 1955 (age 69)
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
Political partyAustralia First
(2002–07; 2010–present)
Other political
affiliations
See list
Spouse
Jane Mengler
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 1994)​
[1]
Children2
Residence(s)Tempe, New South Wales, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Sydney (PhD)
Occupation
Known forFar-right activism, founding National Action and Australia First Party[2]
Criminal chargeInsurance fraud and property offences (1984)[3]
Accessory before the fact (1991)[3]
Academic background
ThesisThe Other Radicalism Inquiry Into Contemporary Australian, Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organisation 1975-1995 (1999)
Part of a series on
Far-right politics
in Australia
Active organisations
Defunct organisations
People
Literature
Related topics

James Saleam (/ˈseɪləm/; born 18 September 1955) is an Australian political scientist, academic, political activist, and author noted for his involvement in Australian nationalism, anti-globalism, and the anti-immigration movement.[4][5][6][7] He is currently the chairman of the Australia First Party.[8][9] He came to prominence after founding National Action, a militant nationalist organization active in Sydney during the 1980s.[5][10]

The son of Lebanese immigrants to Australia,[11] Saleam attended Maryborough State High School, where he developed his interest in politics and nationalism.[12] By 1970, he joined the National Socialist Party of Australia and two years later he was arrested for the fire-bombing of a Maoist 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 the Australian nationalist scene.[5] The organization advocated for a nationalist agenda and frequently engaged in tactics like direct action.[5][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 an African 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 an MA and PhD from the University of Sydney by writing two theses on the far-right in America and Australia.[5] He would join the Australia 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 nationalist stance and campaigning on issues of national sovereignty and cultural preservation. Since then, 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".[17][14]

  1. ^ "Good Weekend and Dr James Saleam". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  2. ^ Petrinic, Isabell (2 June 2016). "Lindsay: Scramble over minor and independent preferences". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b Burke, Kelly (6 September 2012). "Mystery over Australia First's manifesto man". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. ^ Hannan, Ewin; Baker, Richard (13 December 2005). "Nationalists boast of their role on the beach". The Age. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Writing About the Extreme Right in Australia". History Cooperative. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  6. ^ Remeikis, Amy (10 July 2018). "Pauline Hanson's One Nation directs preferences away from Labor in Longman". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  7. ^ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2012). "Neonazismus in den USA". Im Schatten der Schwarzen Sonne (in German). Wiesbaden: Marixverlag. pp. 85–86. ISBN 9783843801706.
  8. ^ Drinkwater, Dale (7 June 2016). ""I fight the system and the system fights me", says Lindsay candidate". Western Weekender. Penrith: Western Sydney Publishing Group. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  9. ^ Fellner, Carrie (22 March 2019). "Right wing extremist makes election bid in sleepy NSW 'cherry capital'". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  10. ^ Whitford, Troy (2013). "Combating Political Police: An Overview of National Action's Counterintelligence Program 1982–1990" (PDF). Salus Journal. 2 (1).
  11. ^ "Getting the fascist message into the Australian heartland". Crikey. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  12. ^ Bearup, Greg (26 September 2009). Whelan, Judith (ed.). "The Audacity of Hate". Good Weekend.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Crisp01 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference WAP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Jensen, Erik (9 July 2009). "Right-wing genie out of the bottle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  16. ^ McSwiney 2024.
  17. ^ West, Andrew (29 February 2004). "White separatist takes on Marrickville". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2013.