Jaime Saleh

Jaime Mercelino Saleh (born 20 April 1941) is a Dutch Antillean politician and former judge. He was a judge on the Joint Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles from 1974 to 1990 and was its president from 1979. Saleh subsequently served as Governor of the Netherlands Antilles between 1990 and 2002.

Saleh was born on Bonaire on 20 April 1941. He was the youngest child in a family of Lebanese immigrants and had eleven siblings. His father worked as a trader and eventually the family became wealthier, which allowed Saleh to study in the Netherlands. At age 13 he was sent to Nijmegen to enter into the Dominicus College. Having been raised a Roman Catholic he was to become a Catholic novitiate and subsequently a priest. After three years he changed schools and attended the gymnasium at the Bischoppelijke College in Sittard, which he finished in 1962. Saleh then started studying law at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and obtained his degree four years later. He subsequently worked shortly as a substitute prosecutor in the Netherlands.

In 1968 Saleh returned to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and started working as deputy public prosecutor. In 1971 he turned to the private sector and became an attorney. In 1974 Saleh was appointed as judge on the Joint Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles. From 1 September 1979 to 15 January 1990 he served as its president. Saleh also served as Vice President of the Dutch Navy Military Court for the Netherlands Antilles between 1978 and 1979. He was its president from 1979 to 1990.

Saleh was inaugurated as Governor of the Netherlands Antilles on 16 January 1990. He had already been thought of by Governor Bernadito M. Leito as his successor in 1983. During Saleh's early time in office the Third Lubbers cabinet sought a different outlook on the Netherlands Antilles. In 1992, this led to a Common measure of Kingdom governance [nl] for Sint Maarten. Saleh as Governor was heavily involved in the preventive oversight. The cabinet of Miguel Pourier [nl] took over this role in 1994.

In September 1995, after Hurricane Luis struck Sint Maarten and looting occurred, Saleh authorized the first use of Dutch military forces since the 1969 Curaçao uprising. In 1997 he also allowed the use of Dutch Marines at Koraal Specht prison on Curaçao. Saleh's time in office ended on 1 July 2002.

Saleh was appointed Minister of State of the Dutch Caribbean in 2004. From 2005 to 2011 he was professor of constitutional law of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at Utrecht University. In 2008 he won the Nederlandse Juristen Vereniging Prize. At the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander on 30 April 2013 Saleh was the carrier of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Saleh is married and has four children. His daughter Eunice Saleh became President of the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba in December 2016. Saleh was President of the Court when it was still known as Joint Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles.

Saleh is a Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau.