Omar Mokhtar El-Hariri (; – 2 November 2015) was a leading figure of the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. After rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, the NTC governed Libya for a further ...

of Libya who served as the Minister of Military Affairs in 2011, during the Libyan Civil War. He controlled the National Liberation Army and the Free Libyan Air Force from March to May 2011. He served on the council executive board before being replaced by Jalal al-Digheily, and he headed Military Affairs in the unicameral National Transitional Council legislature. El-Hariri was involved in the initial 1969 coup against the monarchy that began

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-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. He was imprisoned for 15 years from 1975 to 1990 under a death sentence, with four and a half years in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

. Gaddafi commuted the sentence in 1990 and El-Hariri was subsequently placed under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

until the Libyan civil war broke out in 2011. After breaking free of his detention, El-Hariri eventually became the political head of the National Transitional Council's armed forces. In an interview with ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', 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." On 19 May 2011, ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' reported Jalal al-Digheily had been appointed "defense minister". Al Jazeera and the

Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.–based non-partisan defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which ...

later confirmed that Digheily had replaced El-Hariri. 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. He died in a road accident on 2 November 2015 on the road between Al Bayda and Al Qubbah.

References

Year of birth missing 2015 deaths Libyan prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Libya People of the Libyan civil war (2011) Libyan military personnel Ministers of defence of Libya Members of the National Transitional Council National Liberation Army (Libya) Libyan Sunni Muslims Road incident deaths in Libya Libyan politicians convicted of crimes {{Libya-politician-stub