On 17 March 1949, Kamal Jumblatt officially founded the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and declared its constitution on 1 May 1949. The PSP was a socialist party espousing secularism and officially opposed to the sectarian character of Lebanese politics. In practice, it has been led and largely supported since its foundation by various segments of Lebanese society, especially members of the Druze community, and the Jumblatt clan in particular. In 1949, Jumblatt firmly opposed the execution of political leader Antoun Saadeh and held the government responsible for his assassination. In the name of the PSP, Jumblatt called the first convention of the Arab Socialist Parties, was held in Beirut in May 1951. Prior to the 1952 elections, Jumblatt declared the formation of the opposition salvation front electoral list in a rally on March 18, 1951 in the village of Barouk, Mount Lebanon. Clashes between Jumblatt's supporters and Lebanese security forces led to the death of four, three of them were PSP supporters. After this incident he gave his famous speech:Today, our party was baptized with blood. In the same year, he was reelected for the third time as Deputy of Mount Lebanon.