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. 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. He was succeeded by . 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. ==Governor of the Netherlands Antilles==