Progressive Socialist Organizations of the Mediterranean

PSOM was coordinated by a Permanent Secretariat, headquartered in Tripoli, Libya (Gaddafi was the chief financial sponsor of PSOM) and presided over by the Secretary-General, Libyan diplomat Ahmed al-Shahati (1936-2006, a career diplomat who had joined the Libyan diplomatic service during the regime of King Idris). Karolos Papoulias, Secretary of PASOK’s International Relations Committee (later Foreign Minister and President of Greece) played a key organizing role for PSOM’s events and conferences. == Activities ==

PSOM organized a series of conferences, of which the first took place in November 1976 in Barcelona, Spain. The next was in Valletta, Malta in June 1977, which led to the signing of the “Malta Document”, the fifth in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (May 1984) and the sixth in Nicosia, Cyprus (October 1988). ==Member parties and organizations==

In the first conference that took place in Barcelona (November 1976), the following parties (not all of them from the Mediterranean) were represented (in alphabetical order of countries): • Algeria: National Liberation Front (ruling party) • Cyprus: EDEK Socialist Party • Denmark: Socialist People's Party • France: Unified Socialist Party • Greece: Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) • Iraq: Arab Socialist Baath Party (ruling party) • Italy: Italian Socialist Party • Lebanon: Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon and Popular Nasserist Organization • Libya: Arab Socialist Union (ruling party) • Malta: Malta Labour Party (ruling party) • Morocco: Socialist Union of Popular Forces • Netherlands: Socialist Party • Palestine: Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), represented by Fatah • Portugal: Socialist Party (in government) and Socialist Intervention Group • Spain: People’s Socialist Party and Federation of Socialist Parties • Syria: Arab Socialist Baath Party (ruling party) • Tunisia: Socialist Destourian Party (ruling party) Between 1977 and 1982, as a result of lobbying and development of contacts, more political parties and movements agreed to join PSOM, so that by the time of the 4th conference in Algiers (May 1982), the following parties and organizations had become members, in addition to those previously noted: • Egypt: National Progressive Unionist Rally Party • Italy: Italian Communist Party • France: Socialist Party (in government), French Communist Party • Lebanon: Lebanese National Movement • Libya: General People’s Congress (as a representative of the ruling “Jamahiriya” following the abolition of all political parties in Libya decreed by Gaddafi in 1977) • Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: Polisario Front (ruling party) • Spain: Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (in government) • Yugoslavia: League of Communists of Yugoslavia (ruling party), Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia == References ==