Saleh Tarif was born in 1954 in the Druze village of Julis in the Galilee, where he currently resides.
He served in Parachute and Tank Units of the IDF before obtaining a B.A. from Haifa University.
Saleh Tarif is the grandson of Sheikh Amin Tarif, longtime religious leader of the Israeli Druze community. He was Mayor of Julis from 1983-93, and served as Chairman of the Board of Druze and Circassian Mayors. Saleh Tarif is a member of the Labor Party Central Committee.
Tarif has been a Knesset Member since 1988. He served as a member of the Finance, Internal Affairs and Environment, and the Constitution, Law and Justice Committees. From 1992 until 1995 he served as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. From 1996-1999 he served as Chairman of the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee and of the Israel-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Union.
In the 15th Knesset (1999-2001), Saleh Tarif was Chairman of the House Committee, and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Internal Affairs and Environment Committees. He also served as Chairman of the Israel-Italy Parliamentary Friendship League.
From November 1995 until June 1996, Tarif served as Deputy Minister of the Interior.
In March 2001, Saleh Tarif was appointed Minister without Portfolio responsible for Arab Affairs, becoming the first non-Jewish minister in an Israeli government. He resigned in January 2002, following a decision to prosecute him.
He is married, and has four children.