James Saleam (; born 18 September 1955) is an Australian

far-right extremist Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

and the chairman of the

Australia First Party The Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated, often shortened to the Australia First Party (AFP), is an Australian far-right political party founded in 1996 by Graeme Campbell. The policies of Australia First have been described as ultranat ...

. Saleam has been described as a

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

, who 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". This is often considered ironic Saleam is alleged to have mixed Lebanese ancestry; indigenous people of the Middle East, and in fact all non-Europeans, and even some Southern Europeans were once barred from immigrating to Australia until the 1950s under the

White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...

. He has been observed wearing a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

armband and associating with neo-Nazi

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

s.Several articles discuss Saleam's criminal convictions, contain photographs of Saleam wearing Nazi attire and describe Saleam as a neo-Nazi or former neo-Nazi: * * * * *For historic photos of Saleam in Nazi Attire:

Early life

Saleam, the son of Lebanese immigrants, was born on 18 September 1955 in Maryborough,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Political activism

In 1970, at the age of 15, he joined the

National Socialist Party of Australia The National Socialist Party of Australia (NSPA) was a minor Australian neo-Nazi party that operated between 1967 and early 1970s. It was formed in 1967 as a more moderate breakaway from the Australian National Socialist Party (ANSP). The NSPA ...

. He was arrested and convicted for the fire-bombing of a

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

bookshop in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

in 1972. In 1975, "much to his later chagrin", Saleam was photographed in full

Nazi uniform Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

at a public meeting. On

Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

1982, he co-founded National 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 a

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

attack in 1989 on

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

Australian representative Eddie Funde, for which he served three years in prison. After his release from prison, Saleam was awarded a PhD in politics from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

by writing a thesis entitled ''The Other Radicalism: An Inquiry into Contemporary Australian Extreme Right Ideology, Politics And Organization 1975–1995''. Saleam was affiliated with the

Patriotic Youth League The Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated, often shortened to the Australia First Party (AFP), is an Australia, Australian far-right political party founded in 1996 by Graeme Campbell (politician), Graeme Campbell. The policies of Austral ...

, and has been seen associating with

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

skinheads. In 2004, Saleam contested the NSW local government elections, and ran for

Marrickville Council Marrickville Council was a local government area located in the inner west region of Sydney, Australia. It was originally created on 1 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Marrickville". On 12 May 2016, Marrickville Council was forcibly merged ...

on an anti-refugee platform. In 2012, he ran for NSW local government election in the

City of Blue Mountains The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney. The Mayor of Blue Mountains City Council is coun ...

Australia First Party

Saleam was the Secretary of the Sydney branch of the

(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 the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

branch party with the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

(AEC). The party was reregistered in mid-2010, in time to contest the 2010 federal election

AFP contested the 2013 Australian federal election, 2013 federal election, Saleam standing in the seat of Cook on a platform to end refugee intakes, running against

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

. He received 617 votes, or 0.67% of the vote. 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". Saleam stood at the 2016 federal election in the seat of Lindsay and received 1068 votes or 1.2% of the vote. He stood for AFP in the 2018 Longman by-election, receiving 709 votes or 0.8% of the vote. Saleam stood in the seat of

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

, New South Wales, in the 2017 by-election as an independent, though still a member of Australia First, as the party is not registered for state elections. He received 453 votes, 1% of the total. He again stood in the seat at the

2019 New South Wales state election The 2019 New South Wales state election was held on Saturday 23 March 2019 to elect the 57th Parliament of New South Wales, including all 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 21 of the 42 seats in the Legislative Council. The election was ...

as an independent, receiving 0.95% of the vote. Saleam's platform included the reintroduction of the

and opposition to Chinese immigration.Right wing extremist makes election bid in sleepy NSW 'cherry capital'
/ref>

Personal life

Saleam married Jane Mengler in 1987. They had two children and divorced in 1994.

Electoral history

Federal Parliament elections state Parliament elections

References

External links

Australian Nationalist Ideological, Historical and Legal Archive
maintained by James Saleam
Historic photo's of Saleam and other members of the National Socialist Party of Australia
News article featuring several historic photographs of Saleam wearing Nazi attire including a swastika arm band. 1955 births 20th-century Australian criminals Living people Australia First Party politicians Australian people of Lebanese descent Australian anti-communists Australian fraudsters Australian neo-Nazis Far-right politics in Australia Politicians from Queensland Anti-Asian sentiment in Australia Anti-immigration politics in Australia People convicted of fraud Criminals from Sydney University of Sydney alumni Neo-fascist politicians Alt-right activists {{neo-Nazism