Salim Matar was born in Baghdad in 1956 into a family that had migrated from Amarah, in Maysan Governorate. He joined the Iraqi Communist Party, but left in late 1978 following the collapse of what was known as the National Front. After spending about three years traveling throughout the Middle East, he settled in Geneva at the end of 1981. There, he learned French and subsequently pursued studies at the Institute of Development—part of the University of Geneva—which specializes in the sociology of the Third World.