Salah Masoud Busir | |
|---|---|
صالح مسعود بويصير | |
 | |
| Born | 1925 |
| Died | February 21, 1973 (aged 47–48) |
| Cause of death | Airliner Shootdown |
| Nationality | Libyan |
| Education | Al-Azhar University |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, journalist, and historian |
.svg){kind=small} Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office September 8, 1969 – October 16, 1970 | |
| President | Muammar Gaddafi |
| Preceded by | Ali Hassanein |
| Succeeded by | Mohammed Najm |
| Libyan Minister of Information | |
| In office October 16, 1970 – 1972 | |
Salah Masoud Busir (Arabic: صالح مسعود بويصير, 1925 – February 21, 1973) was a Libyan politician, journalist, and historian. Born into a merchant family, he grew to have a successful career in journalism, politics, and science. He was an advocate for Arab values and for the independence of Libya from Italy. Busir was a strong opponent of first the Italian colonial occupation of Libya, and later the United Kingdom as well as the Libyan monarchy. As a result of this, he was forced to emigrate from Libya on two separate occasions. The 1969 Libyan coup d'état and subsequent coming to power of Muammar Gaddafi in 1969 allowed him to return from his 14-year exile. He became the first Foreign Minister of the Libyan Arab Republic and sought to eliminate foreign military bases in Libya. In 1972, he tried to promote his ideas at the pan-Arab level, but in February 1973, the plane on which he was flying was shot down by an Israeli fighter over the Sinai Peninsula.