Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj ( ar, فائز السراج or ; born 20 February 1960) is a
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
n politician who served as the Chairman of the
Presidential Council of Libya and
Head of Government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...
of the
Government of National Accord
The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. ...
from 2016 to 2021, which was formed on 17 December 2015 under the
Libyan Political Agreement
The Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) ( ar, مجلس النواب, translit=Majlis al-Nuwaab, translation=Council of Deputies) is the legislature of Libya resulting from the 2014 Libyan parliamentary election, which had an 18% turnout. I ...
. He has been a member of the Parliament of
Tripoli.
Biography
Fayez Mustafa was born on 20 February 1960 in
Tripoli. He comes from a wealthy family of
Kouloughli descent which owned shops and vast amount of land.
Al-Sarraj himself is said to be of
Turkish origin. His father, Mostafa al-Sarraj was a minister during the
Libyan Monarchy.
Fayez al-Sarraj trained as an architect and during the
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi era he was employed at the Housing Ministry.
In 2014, he served as the Minister of Housing and Utilities in the
Maiteeq Cabinet
The cabinet of prime minister Ahmed Maiteeq was confirmed on 25 May 2014. 83 of the 94 MPs present voted to confirm the cabinet. Four cabinet positions remained unfilled. The election of the prime minister was declared illegal on 9 June 2014 by ...
of the
GNC. His opponents criticized his political appointment as a foreign imposition. An article that appeared in 2016 in
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
newspaper quoted Guma el-Gamaty, a member of Libya Dialogue, the UN-chaired body that created the new government, saying that al-Sarraj was "expected to ask for help to combat
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
and train Libyan units."
Following
Libya's 2014 elections, the government became split between the
New General National Congress
The General National Congress or General National Council (GNC; ar, المؤتمر الوطني العام, Berber: Agraw Amuran Amatay) was the legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It ...
in Tripoli and the internationally recognized legislature of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
in
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...
.
Presidency
In early October 2014 the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
envoy to Libya,
Bernardino León
Bernardino León Gross (born in Málaga, 20 October 1964) is a Spanish diplomat and politician and former United Nations Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. Prior to this appointment by United Nations ...
, proposed a National Unity Government for Libya, to be led by the Presidential Council of Fayez al-Sarraj, as prime minister, three deputies from the country's eastern, western, and southern regions, and two ministers.
However, this national unity government was rejected by the internationally recognized legislature in Tobruk and the rival government in
Tripoli. Fayez al-Sarraj, and six members of the Presidential Council and proposed cabinet arrived in Tripoli on 30 March 2016.
The following day, it was reported that the GNA had taken control of the prime ministerial offices and that the GNC appointed prime minister Khalifa al-Ghawil had fled to Misrata. On 14 October 2014, forces loyal to
GNC took over the building of the
High Council of State and announced the comeback of Ghawil cabinet
Then, fighting occurred between Sarraj loyalists and Ghawil forces.
al-Sarraj obtained
ni-Vanuatu citizenship for himself and his family in January 2020.
On 16 September 2020, al-Sarraj stated that he will be stepping down from his position by the end of October 2020, following
a month of protests in Tripoli. On 31 October 2020, al-Sarraj rescinded his decision to resign. Following the
Libyan Political Dialogue Forum
The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) is an intra- Libyan political body involved in series of meetings started in late 2020, initially aiming to lead to Libyan elections, Libyan peace process and "democractic legitimacy of Libyan instituti ...
, he transferred his powers on 15 March 2021.
Government of National Accord
Sarraj has been Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord since its installment in December 2015 as part of a
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
-led political agreement.
Prior to his initial arrival in Tripoli in March 2016, Sarraj survived two separate assassination attempts.
Over the past two years, the GNA has struggled to gain a foothold as a legitimate institution of authority inside the country, and Libya has remained divided. The government's initial proposed group of ministers was rejected by the House of Representatives (HoR), leading Sarraj to form a government that received a no confidence vote from the HoR.
Infighting among rival militias has only intensified, and Libyan citizens have faced economic hardships, including inflation, corruption, and smuggling, that are "melting away the country's cash reserves".
The United Nations representatives who initially formed the unity government have since expressed concern over its ability to make progress. In December 2016, the Security Council noted the "limited authority" of the GNA and stated that "the Libyan Political Agreement did not fulfill the expectations. The implementation has stalled."
Months following this statement, an April 2017
U.N. Security Council meeting summary cautioned that "Libya could relapse into conflict" and said the government has struggled to "deliver basic services while endeavoring to fight terrorism, illegal migration and oil smuggling."
In an attempt to make the government more effective, reports have surfaced throughout 2017 of a consensus to restructure the GNA and overall Libyan Political Agreement.
In July 2018, Libya rejected
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
's plan aimed at stopping
migration from Libya.
On 10 April 2019, United Nations chief
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...
said, at the UN headquarters, that he still hopes to avoid a "bloody battle for Tripoli". Two days before that, troops loyal to
Khalifa Haftar
Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar ( ar, خليفة بلقاسم حفتر, Ḵalīfa Bilqāsim Ḥaftar; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LN ...
began moving toward the capital.
References
External links
Government of National Accord – Office of the Prime MinisterOfficial Twitter feed
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarraj, Fayez
1960 births
Heads of state of Libya
Living people
People from Tripoli
Libyan politicians
Libyan architects
Prime Ministers of Libya
Libyan people of Turkish descent
Members of the Presidential Council (Libya)