Hamma Salama

Hamma Salama
Speaker of the Sahrawi National Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 March 2020
Preceded byKhatri Addouh
Personal details
Bornc. 1950s
Laayoune, Western Sahara
Political partyPolisario Front

Hamma Salama (Arabic: حمة سلامة; born c. 1950s) is a Sahrawi politician and former military officer serving as the speaker of the National Council since March 2020. He is a member of the Polisario Front party and previously was a member of the national secretariat.

Biography

Salama, a Sahrawi, was born in Laayoune, Western Sahara.[1] When he was in his 20s, he left his hometown due to the Western Sahara conflict and joined the Polisario Front, serving in the military and fighting against Morocco.[1] He rose to the rank of commander of the 3rd military region of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), living in Mijek in the Free Zone (territory controlled by the Sahrawis).[1]

Salama was a member of the National Secretariat by 1999.[2] As of 2011, Salama, who remained commander of the 3rd military region, was in his 50s and was described as "the representation of those old Arab revolutionary forces that by now belong to the past: cultured, knowledgeable ... Progressive and a fighter, Salama was solid and calm."[1] In c. 2012, he was moved to being commander of the 2nd region.[3]

In c. 2015, Salama became the Minister for the Interior of the SADR.[2] In March 2020, Sahrawi legislative elections were held and Salama, after winning a seat in the Sahrawi National Council, was named by the legislature's members to be the speaker of the council on 17 March 2020, defeating the other candidate, Salek Baba Hasana.[4] Three years later, he was re-elected speaker following the 2023 Sahrawi legislative election.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Liberti, Stefano (March 2011). A sud di Lampedusa. Cinque anni di viaggi sulle rotte dei migranti [South of Lampedusa. Five Years of Travel on Migrant Routes] (in Italian). minimum fax. ISBN 9788875213411.
  2. ^ a b "Secretariat national du Front POLISARIO" [National Secretariat of Front POLISARIO]. Arso.com (in Spanish).
  3. ^ "Western Sahara: Minister of Defense Receives Ross in Liberated Tifariti". Sahara Press Service. 3 November 2012 – via allAfrica.
  4. ^ "Hamma Salama, electo presidente del Consejo Nacional Saharaui (Parlamento)" [Hamma Salama elected president of the Sahrawi National Council (Parliament)] (in Spanish). Sahara Press Service. 17 March 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ "انتخاب حمة سلامة رئيسا للمجلس الوطني الصحراوي" [Hama Salama elected as President of the Sahrawi National Council] (in Arabic). Sahrawi Press Service. 18 April 2023.