Jim Saleam

James Saleam (/ˈseɪləm/; born 18 September 1955) is an Australian far-right extremist who is currently the chairman of the Australia First Party. He came to prominence after founding National Action, a militant white nationalist organization active in Sydney during the 1980s.

The son of Lebanese immigrants to Australia, Saleam attended Maryborough State High School, where he developed his interest in politics and nationalism. 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. 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. The organization advocated for a nationalist agenda and frequently engaged in tactics like direct action. 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.

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. 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. 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 the White Australia policy.