Ṣāliḥ Masʻūd Abū Yaṣīr

Salah Masoud Busir (, 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 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.

Biography

Early life Salah Busir was born in 1925 in Benghazi into the family of a merchant. He was about six years old when, in 1931, Italian authorities captured and hanged sheikh Omar al-Mukhtar, who led the armed struggle for the independence of Libya. The result of this was a general surge in Libyan nationalism and anti-Italian sentiments throughout Libya. When Salah graduated from high school in Benghazi, his father refused to educate him in Libya and sent him to study abroad in the de facto independent Egypt.

Immigration to Cairo and World War II In the late 1930s, Busir arrived in Cairo where he entered Al-Azhar al-Sharif Theological University. In the Kingdom of Egypt, the British had a large economic and governmental presence. At the same time, there was a popular movement to decrease British influence and restore Egyptian sovereignty. On the one hand, this contributed to the growth of Arab nationalism. However, since the British were opponents of the Italians, the Libyans who studied in Egypt, unlike the Egyptians, saw them as their allies. Salah Busir quickly became one of the prominent figures among Libyan students at the university. He involved himself in politics and actively participated in meetings where the regime of fascist Italy was condemned.

When World War II broke out, the situation in Libya became more volatile. Busir, a fledgling journalist in Cairo, began giving speeches over the radio which were broadcast to Italian Libya. He denounced the policies of the fascist Italians and called on the people to begin a "holy war" against the Italians. The British administration in Egypt soon took notice of Busir, and, in 1943, when Libya was liberated from the Italo-German forces, he returned to his homeland. There he began to spread political information and the goals of the allied forces. He worked for the Benghazi newspaper "", published by the Allies, and then

However, his prison stay would not last long. With the secret assistance of either the court, or with the help of the enemies of the monarchy, he escaped from prison as early as August 1955.

Minister of the Revolutionary Government After the 1969 Libyan coup d'état, Salah Busir returned to Libya and accepted the proposal to join the governing Council of the Revolutionary Command, led by Muammar Gaddafi. Busir was to lead the Foreign Ministry of the new Republic. On September 8, 1969, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Unity in the cabinet under Mahmud Suleiman Maghribi. Its main task was the negotiations surrounding the liquidation of foreign military bases in the country, as well as on the redistribution of oil revenues. Two weeks after his appointment, Busir called the ambassadors of the United States and Great Britain and said that if it was confirmed that they were supplying Israel with tanks and other military equipment, Libya would have to reconsider its relationship with London and Washington. A few days later, on October 31, he summoned the US ambassador and handed him a note demanding the liquidation of the Wheelus Air Base. The British ambassador also received a note with a proposal to begin negotiations on the evacuation of British troops, but in December the major role in negotiations with the USA and Great Britain passed to the member of the SRK Major (and later prime minister) Abdessalam Jalloud. Despite a decline in his influence, Busir retained his post in Gaddafi's government. Busir's hard work paid off, and on March 27, 1970, the British air base in El Adem and the naval base in Tobruk were abandoned, and on June 11, 1970, the American flag was lowered over Wheelus Air base.

Busir served as Foreign Minister until October 16, 1970, when he was replaced by a member of the Council of the Revolutionary Command, Major Mohammed Najm.

Fadwa attended university, becoming a professor as well as a local celebrity. In 2008, she gave an interview on 35th anniversary of her father's death and said that she had learned about the death of her father over the radio in London, where her family was at that time. Fadwa says Libya has not done enough to get Israel to provide more information on the plane crash.