Omar El-Hariri

Omar Mokhtar El-Hariri
Minister of Military Affairs of the National Transitional Council of Libya
In office 23 March 2011 – May 2011
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Jalal al-Digheily
Personal details
Political party	Anti-Gaddafi forces
Religion	Sunni Islam

Omar Mokhtar El-Hariri was a leading figure of the National Transitional Council of Libya who formerly served as the Minister of Military Affairs.^[1] He controlled the National Liberation Army and the Free Libyan Air Force from March to May 2011. Though he no longer serves on the council Executive Board after being replaced by Jalal al-Digheily, he still heads Military Affairs in the unicameral National Transitional Council legislature.^[2]

El-Hariri was involved in the initial 1969 coup against the monarchy that began Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule of Libya. He organised a plot to overthrow Gaddafi in 1975. When the coup was uncovered, 300 men were arrested, four of whom died during interrogation. Of the remainder, 21 were sentenced to death, including El-Hariri.^[3] He was imprisoned for 15 years from 1975 to 1990 under a death sentence, with four and a half years in solitary confinement. Gaddafi commuted the sentence in 1990 and El-Hariri was subsequently placed under house arrest until the 2011 Libyan civil war. After breaking free of his detention, El-Hariri eventually became the political head of the National Transitional Council's armed forces.^[3]

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, El-Hariri said of Libya's future, "They will elect a new president and he will serve for a limited time. He could be removed if he does not serve the people. And, of course, we will need a parliament, and a multiparty system."^[4]

On 19 May 2011, The Economist reported Jalal al-Digheily had been appointed "defense minister".^[5] Al Jazeera and The Jamestown Foundation later confirmed that Digheily had replaced El-Hariri.^[6][7] Unlike El-Hariri, Digheily was reportedly given a seat on the Executive Board of the National Transitional Council, while the "military affairs" department that El-Hariri had headed was afforded a seat on the council itself.^[8]

References

1. ^ "Council members". Interim Transitional National Council of Libya. http://ntclibya.org/english/council-members/. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
2. ^ "National Transitional Council". Benghazi: National Transitional Council. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/61DEzFbAb. Retrieved 25 August 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Key figures in Libya's rebel council". BBC News. 10 March 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-africa-12698562. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
4. ^ "How a onetime friend to Gadhafi became his rival". The Globe And Mail (Toronto). http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/how-a-onetime-friend-to-gadhafi-became-his-rival/article1927852/. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
5. ^ "Libya: The colonel feels the squeeze". The Economist. 19 May 2011. http://www.economist.com/node/18713650?story_id=18713650&fsrc=rss. Retrieved 6 August 2011. 
6. ^ Hill, Evan (28 July 2011). "General's death puts Libyan rebels in turmoil". Al Jazeera English. http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/07/2011728215485843.html. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
7. ^ Flood, Derek Henry (25 July 2011). "Special Commentary from Inside Western Libya-- On the Precipice: Libya’s Amazigh in Revolt". The Jamestown Foundation. http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=38225. Retrieved 6 August 2011. 
8. ^ "Libyan rebel leader sacks executive branch of transitional council". Al Arabiya. 8 August 2011. http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/08/161430.html. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 

Persondata
Name	El-Hariri, Omar
Alternative names
Short description	Minister of Military Affairs of the National Transitional Council of Libya
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death