The death yesterday of the Lebanese Prime Minister Mr Saeb Salam symbolised the close of the first turbulent era of the country's independence, writes Michael Jansen. Born in 1905 into a prosperous Beiruti Sunni Muslim family, Mr Salam was educated at the American University of Beirut and the London School of Economics.
In 1943 he was one of the signatories of Lebanon's declaration of independence from France and was elected to his first term in parliament. Although Mr Salam was fundamentally an old fashioned "ward politician", a zaim to use the Arabic word, elected to represent the interests of his community, he repeatedly rose above this role to advocate the interests of the country as a whole.