Salim al-Husayni

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Salim Effendi al-Husayni (died 1908) was a leading figure in Jerusalem who served as mayor from 1882 to 1897. He belonged to the influential al-Husayni family and sat on the Jerusalem Council. His sons Hussein al-Husayni and Mousa Kazim al-Husayni would also become mayors of the city. He built a palace in Jerusalem, which his granddaughter Hind al-Husseini later turned into the Dar al-Tifl Institution to shelter and educate orphaned children. He died in 1908 and is buried in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood near the American Colony Hotel. In Wasif Jawhariyyeh’s diary, he is praised for his work, including building a public sewage system inside the city walls and paving the streets of Old Jerusalem, helping to make the city cleaner and more beautiful. The Ottoman government respected him for his patriotism and leadership, and he was especially loved by farmers.