[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.

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.

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.

[18] His grandfather, George Saleam, was born in Lebanon and fled his country at age 16, boarding a ship bound for Australia.

Malcolm Fraser’s election as PM led towards his exposure to nationalism and far-right politics, after he realised “both sides were in cahoots and that there was a need for a radical third way”.

[12] According to Dr. Michael Monsour, a local doctor from Saleam's hometown, he developed certain fascination with the Nazis and was controversial for painting swastikas and portraying the roman salute.

[19] As a NSPA militant, in 1972, Saleam firebombed a far-left, Maoist bookshop in Brisbane and, two years later, he was found guilty and arrested.

[21][22] On Anzac Day 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 attack in 1989 on African National Congress Australian representative Eddie Funde,[23] for which he served three and a half years in prison.

In July 2009, he announced that it had reached its target of 500 members and was registering the New South Wales branch party with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

[5] AFP contested the 2013 federal election, Saleam standing in the seat of Cook on a platform to end refugee intakes, running against Scott Morrison.

[30] Saleam stood in the seat of Cootamundra, 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.