[6] His family was liberal in regard to religion and his sister, Anbara Salam Khalidy, was the first Lebanese Muslim woman, who did not wear the veil in public.

His administration lasted only four days;[5] under the pressure of strikes and demonstrations, President Bechara El Khoury was forced to resign.

He was recalled on 1 May 1953 by the new president, Camille Chamoun (whose election Salam had supported); this time, his term of office lasted 106 days, until 16 August.

President Chamoun's support for the British, French, and Israeli invasion of Egypt during the Suez Crisis, however, led both Yafi and Salam to resign in protest.

[9] On 25 September 1957, Salam, Yafi and Hussein Oweini, who was also former prime minister, were indicted due to their alleged involvement in organizing an armed coup and rioting.

Throughout the 1960s he opposed the "police state" that he accused Chehab and his chosen successor, Charles Helou, of trying to establish, and in 1968 he spoke out against political interference by military intelligence.

[13] Member State of the Arab League Lebanon portal In 1985, Salam went into exile in Geneva, Switzerland, after surviving two assassination attempts.

He had angered the Syrian government and hardline Muslim groups with the conciliatory stands he had taken at peace conferences held at Geneva and Lausanne the year before, and he did not feel safe to return to Lebanon until 1994.

A noted philanthropist, Salam headed the Makassed foundation, an educational and healthcare charity, from 1957 to 1982, when he was succeeded by his son Tammam.

[14] In addition to Tammam, Salam had two other sons Faisal and Amr, and two daughters with his wife, Tamima Mardam Bey,[15] whom he married in 1941.