Salah Masoud Busir (Arabic: صالح مسعود بويصير, 1925 – February 21, 1973) was a Libyan politician, journalist, and historian.

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.

[1] 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.

When Salah graduated from high school in Benghazi,[2] his father refused to educate him in Libya and sent him to study abroad in the de facto independent Egypt.

They began to echo ideas expressed in the Egyptian press, and spoke in condemnation of British rule, as well as for the freedom and sovereignty of Libya.

In 1947, Busir and others founded the monthly journal Dawn of Libya (Arabic: الفجر الليبي), with the motto "Frankness and Truth".

The magazine played a major role during the turbulent election of the first parliament of Cyrenaica, as they had opposed certain government representatives and criticized the British authorities.

[3] In December 1951, the country gained independence, and in February 1952[3] the now famous journalist Salah Busir was elected to the Chamber of Representatives of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Libya from the region of Cyrenaica.

All political parties were banned in the kingdom, and the king consolidated power, gaining the ability to veto or suspend the parliament should the need arise.

[4][5] In terms of foreign policy, King Idris focused on developing deeper ties with Great Britain, whom he considered his ally.

While writing for Al-Difaa, he criticized the Anglo-Libyan agreement pertaining to the creation of military bases in Libya and opposed the king's close advisers.

On October 5, the queen's brother Sharif bin Seyyed Muhid-din al-Senusi killed Ibrahim al- Shalhi, who, since 1916, had been the adviser to Idris.

[1] Disguised as a woman, with a niqab hiding his face, he was able to freely pass by border control at an international airport and made his way to Tunisia.

Some relatives and close friends have said that authorities offered the Busir return to Libya, promising to amicably settle the problem with the court, but he refused to leave Cairo.

[3] At the same time, Busir began a scientific career at Al-Azhar University,[1] where he received a master's degree in history, defending a dissertation on the theme "Jihad of the Palestinian people".

[2][1][8] 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.

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.

[4] 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.

[3] Until his death, he continued to deal with the Palestinian problem and the history of Libya, and subsequently prepared a doctoral dissertation on the topic of the "Jihad of the Libyan people", but did not have time to defend it.