{{about|the Lebanese academic|the Catholic bishop|Salim Sayegh (Catholic bishop)}} {{Short description|Lebanese politician and academic}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox Minister | image = Political Assembly, 14-15 November 2016 (30913973431) (cropped).jpg | image_size = | office1 = Minister of Social Affairs | prime_minister1 = Saad Hariri | predecessor1 = Mario Aoun | successor1 = Wael Abou Faour | term_start1 = 9 November 2009 | term_end1 = 13 June 2011 | office = Member of the Lebanese Parliament | term_start = 17 May 2022 | term_end = | constituency = Keserwan (2022) | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | party = Kataeb Party | alma_mater = {{ubl|Lebanese American University|University of Paris}} | spouse = | children = | caption = Sayegh in 2016 }} '''Salim Sayegh''' is a Lebanese academic and politician who served as Minister of Social Affairs from 2009 to 2011. He has been serving as a member of the Lebanese Parliament since 2022.

==Early life and education== Sayegh was born into a Maronite family. He graduated from Lebanese American University in 1983.<ref>{{cite news|title=Alumni Awards 2010|url=http://alumni.lau.edu.lb/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=665|access-date=23 March 2013|newspaper=Lebanese American University|year=2010}}</ref> He received a master's degree in international relations and diplomacy in 1989.<ref name=fikr11/> He also holds a PhD in law from the University of Paris in 1992.<ref name=wleaks10nov>{{cite news|title=New Lebanese Cabinet Announced |url=http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=09BEIRUT1214&version=1314919461|access-date=23 March 2013|work=Wikileaks|date=10 November 2009|archive-date=28 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228151032/http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=09BEIRUT1214&version=1314919461|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career== Sayegh worked as professor at the University of South Paris from 1993 to 2009 and also, served as the director of university's conflict resolution center during the same period.<ref name=wleaks10nov/> He is a member of the Kataeb party and was elected as second vice president in February 2008 when Amine Gemayel became the president of the party.<ref name=tds14feb>{{cite news |title=Gemayel appointed president of Phalange Party|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Gemayel+appointed+president+of+Phalange+Party.-a0217258495 |access-date=23 March 2013|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=14 February 2008}}</ref> He has also been a member of the party's political bureau and head of the foreign affairs committee in the party since 2008,<ref name=fikr11>{{cite web|title=HE Dr. Selim El Sayegh |url=http://fikrconferences.org/en/he-dr-selim-el-sayegh|work=Fikr Conferences (2011)|access-date=17 September 2013}}</ref>

Sayegh was appointed minister of social affairs in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri on 9 November 2009.<ref name=aljaz9nov>{{cite news|title=Lebanon's unity government|date=9 November 2009|work=Al Jazeera |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2009/11/2009119194612926893.html|access-date=23 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lebanon's national-unity cabinet formed|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nownews/lebanons_national-unity_cabinet_formed|access-date=23 March 2013|work=Now Lebanon|date=9 November 2009|archive-date=1 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001073854/https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nownews/lebanons_national-unity_cabinet_formed|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sayegh resigned from his party post following his appointment as minister.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sayegh's resignation clarified by the Phalange party|url=http://www.yalibnan.com/2010/11/13/sayeghs-resignation-clarified-by-the-phalange-party/|access-date=17 September 2013|work=Ya Libnan|date=13 November 2010}}</ref> He was among the members of the committee that was charged with drafting the government program.<ref>{{cite news|title=New cabinet convenes, but avoids talk of disarming Hezbollah|work=France 24 |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20091110-lebanon-cabinet-meeting-hariri-saad-hezbollah-disarming-security-resolution|access-date=23 March 2013 |date=10 November 2009|agency=AFP}}</ref> Sayegh's tenure lasted until June 2011, and he was replaced by Wael Abou Faour as minister.<ref>{{cite news|title=New justice minister says he will not engage in vengeful behavior|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Jun-21/New-justice-minister-says-he-will-not-engage-in-vengeful-behavior.ashx#axzz2ODDb0hpR|access-date=23 March 2013|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=21 June 2011|location=Beirut}}</ref>

In addition, he is a member of World Bank board for social politics in the MENA region.<ref name=fikr11/>

In his interview on LBCI February 24, 2025, Sayegh has called for transforming Hezbollah into a civilian organization, arguing that the group can no longer claim autonomy from state control. He criticized Hezbollah for not displaying Lebanese national symbols—highlighting the absence of Lebanese flags at the funeral of its former leaders, Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine—and emphasized that public spaces like the airport road should be secured by state forces rather than partisan groups. Sayegh also condemned Iran’s continued influence in Lebanon, urging Tehran to resolve its issues with the U.S. and Gulf states, and proposed that the United Nations develop a program to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure while integrating its fighters into the national framework with support for jobs, social security, and housing. Additionally, he stressed the inevitability of justice in the Beirut Port explosion case, calling on key government figures to expedite legal proceedings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MP Salim Sayegh to LBCI: Hezbollah should be transformed into a civilian organization |url=https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/lebanon-news/839908/mp-salim-sayegh-to-lbci-hezbollah-should-be-transformed-into-a-civilia/en |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=LBCIV7 |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Commons-inline}} {{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Mario Aoun}} {{s-ttl|title=Minister of Social Affairs|years=2009 &ndash; 2011}} {{s-aft|after= Wael Abou Faour}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayegh, Salim}} Category:Living people Category:Lebanese American University alumni Category:University of Paris alumni Category:Members of the Parliament of Lebanon Category:Academic staff of Paris-Sud University Category:Kataeb Party politicians Category:Social affairs ministers of Lebanon Category:Lebanese Maronites Category:Year of birth missing (living people)