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Safia Farkash Gaddafi ( ar, صفية فركاش القذافي (born 2 May 1952) is the widow of former Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spelling ...
, former
First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...
of
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 ...
, incumbent
Representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...
of
Sirte Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar Gad ...
, and mother of seven of Gaddafi's eight biological children.


Early life

There are two different stories about her origin. One is that Farkash is from a family from the Eastern Libyan Barasa tribe and that she was born in Bayda and was trained as a nurse. The other story is that Farkash is from
Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha M ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
, where she was born as "Zsófia Farkas" to Hungarian parents.


Personal life

She met Gaddafi when he was hospitalised and treated for
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...
in 1970. She became his second wife when they married in Tripoli during the same year. Farkash has seven biological children with Gaddafi and two adopted children: *
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi ( ar, سيف الإسلام معمر القذافي; born 25 June 1972) is a Libyan political figure. He is the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash. He was a p ...
(born 25 June 1972), her eldest son, was an architect who was long-rumored to be Gaddafi's successor. He has been a spokesman to the Western world, and he has negotiated treaties with Italy and the United States. He was viewed as politically moderate, and in 2006, after criticizing his father's government, he briefly left Libya. In 2007, Gaddafi exchanged angry letters with his son regarding his son's statements admitting the
Bulgarian nurses The HIV trial in Libya (or Bulgarian nurses affair) concerns the trials, appeals and eventual release of six foreign medical workers charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with HIV in 1998, causing an epidemic at El-Fat ...
had been tortured. They later reconciled. *
Al-Saadi Gaddafi Al-Saadi Muammar Gaddafi , also spelt as Al-Saadi Moammer Al-Gaddafi ( ar, الساعدي معمر القذافي; born 25 May 1973) is a Libyan retired professional football player. He captained the national team, but his career was widely attr ...
(born 25 May 1973), was a professional
football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby l ...
. On 22 August 2011, he was allegedly arrested by the National Liberation Army. This turned out to be incorrect. In the late evening of 22 August 2011, he spoke with members of the international press. On 30 August, a senior
National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...
official claimed that Al-Saadi Gaddafi had made contact to discuss the terms of his surrender, indicating also that he would wish to remain in Libya. *
Mutassim Gaddafi Mutassim Billah Gaddafi ( ar, المُعْتَصِمٌ بِٱللهِ ٱلْقَذَّافِيّ, also transliterated as Al-Moa'tassem Bellah Al-Qaddafi or Al-Mutasim Billah al-Qadhafi; 18 December 1974 – 20 October 2011) was a Libyan Army ...
(18 December 1974 – 20 October 2011), Gaddafi's fourth son, was a lieutenant colonel in the Libyan Army. He later served as Libya's National Security Advisor. He was seen as a possible successor to his father, after Saif al-Islam. Mutassim was killed along with his father after the battle of Sirte. *
Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi (; born 20 September 1976) is the fifth son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife, Safia Farkash. Biography Gaddafi was born in Tripoli in either 1975 or 1976. He started his maritime career by joi ...
(born 20 September 1976), was an employee of the General National Maritime Transport Company, a company that specialized in oil exports. He is most-known for his violent incidents in Europe, attacking police officers in Italy (2001), drunk driving (2004), and for assaulting his girlfriend in Paris (2005). In 2008, he was charged with assaulting two staff in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and was imprisoned by Swiss police. The arrest created a strong standoff between Libya and Switzerland. *
Ayesha Gaddafi Ayesha Gaddafi ( ar, عائشة القذافي, born December 25, 1977), also known as Aisha Gaddafi, is a Libyan former mediator and military official, former UN Goodwill Ambassador, and lawyer by profession. She is the fifth child and only bio ...
(born 1977), Farkash's only biological daughter, is a lawyer who joined the defense teams of executed former Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
and Iraqi journalist
Muntadhar al-Zaidi Muntadhar al-Zaidi ( ar, منتظر الزيدي ''Muntaẓar az-Zaydī''; born 15 January 1979) is an Iraqi broadcast journalist who served as a correspondent for Iraqi-owned, Egyptian-based Al-Baghdadia TV. , al-Zaidi works with a Lebanes ...
. In 2006, she married a cousin of her father's, Ahmed al-Gaddafi al-Qahsi, with whom she has four children (as of 2011). *
Saif al-Arab Gaddafi Saif al-Arab Gaddafi ( ar, سيف العرب القذافي, ''lit. Sword of the Arabs; of the Gaddafa''; 1982 – 30 April 2011) was the sixth son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. From around 2006 to 2010, Saif al-Arab spent much of hi ...
(1982 – 30 April 2011) was appointed a military commander in the Libyan Army during the
Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. T ...
. Saif al-Arab and three of Farkash's grandchildren were reported killed by a NATO bombing in April 2011. Like the death of Hanna, this is disputed by the organizations alleged to be responsible. *
Khamis Gaddafi Khamis Gaddafi (27 May 1983 – 29 August 2011) was the seventh and youngest son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the military commander in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan Army. He was part of his father's inner circl ...
(27 May 1983 – 29 August 2011), her sixth son, who was serving as the commander of the Libyan Army's elite
Khamis Brigade The Khamis Brigade, formally the 32nd Reinforced Brigade of the Armed People, was a regime security brigade of the Libyan Armed Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the official leader of Libya from 1969 until 2011. The 32nd Brigade was commanded b ...
. On 30 August 2011, a spokesman for the
National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...
said it was "almost certain" Khamis had been killed in
Tarhuna Tarhuna (; ar, ترهونة), also Tarhoona or Tarhunah, is a Libyan town to the southeast of Tripoli, in the Murqub District. The city derives its name from that of its pre-Roman-era inhabitants, a Berber tribe. The city was known as al-Boi ...
during clashes with units of the National Liberation Army. She and Gaddafi are rumored to have adopted two children, Hanna and Milad. * Hana Muammar Gaddafi (claimed by Gaddafi to be his adopted daughter, but most facts surrounding this claim are disputed) was apparently killed at the age of four, during the retaliatory US
bombing raids Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
in 1986. She may not have died; the adoption may have been posthumous; or he may have adopted a second daughter and given her the same name after the first one died. Following the taking by rebels of the family residence in the
Bab al-Azizia Bab al-Azizia (, , ) is a military barracks and compound situated in the southern suburbs of Tripoli, the capital of Libya. It served as the main base for the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi until its capture by anti-Gaddafi forces on 23 August 20 ...
compound in Tripoli, ''The New York Times'' both reported evidence (complete with photographs) of Hana's life after her declared death, when she became a doctor and worked in a Tripoli hospital. Her passport was reported as showing a birth date of 11 November 1985, making her six months old at the time of the US raid. However, a Libyan official told the ''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' that Gaddafi adopted a second daughter and named her Hana in honour of the first one who was killed. The family's main residence was in the
Bab al-Azizia Bab al-Azizia (, , ) is a military barracks and compound situated in the southern suburbs of Tripoli, the capital of Libya. It served as the main base for the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi until its capture by anti-Gaddafi forces on 23 August 20 ...
military
barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
, located in the southern suburbs of Tripoli.


Business and other interests

Farkash kept a low profile during the initial period of her marriage to Gaddafi; however, after the release on license of Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi in 2009, she took a more public profile. She organised a party covered by the local media to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 revolution that brought her husband to power, and in 2010 attended the graduation of female police students. In 2008, Farkash was elected vice president to the African First Ladies Organization in a meeting of
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
leaders in Sharm al-Sheikh, even though she was not present at the meeting, and has never taken part in activities related to it. Farkash owns airline Buraq Air, headquartered at Mittiga International Airport. Operated with the approval of her husband, even though it is a rival of the Libyan national carrier, it monopolizes the transfer of Libyan
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
pilgrims to
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valle ...
.


Libyan Civil War

Farkash stayed with her husband and family through the
Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. T ...
, at their home in Tripoli. After a first round of
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 harmonizi ...
sanctions froze the overseas assets of Libya and those personally held by Gaddafi, the governments of France and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...
enabled a second round of sanctions, which froze an estimated £18Bn of state and personal assets control by Farkash. In May 2011, she gave her first press interview to
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...
reporter
Nima Elbagir Nima Elbagir ( ar, نعمة الباقر; born July 20, 1978) is a Sudanese-born journalist and an award-winning international television correspondent. Elbagir joined CNN as a London-based international correspondent. In 2008, she picked up tw ...
, via mobile telephone. As the Battle for Tripoli reached a climax in mid-August, the family were forced to abandon their fortified compound. On 27 August 2011, it was reported by the
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
ian news agency
Mena MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or ...
that Libyan rebel fighters had seen six armoured
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
sedans, possibly carrying top Gaddafi regime figures, cross the border at the south-western Libyan town of
Ghadames Ghadames or Ghadamis ( Berber: ''ʕadémis''; ar, غدامس, Libyan vernacular: ''ɣdāməs'', Latin: ''Cidamus, Cydamus'', it, Gadames) is an oasis Berber town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya. The i ...
towards
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, which at the time was denied by the Algerian authorities. On 29 August, the
Algerian government Politics of Algeria takes place in a framework of a constitutional semi-presidential republic, whereby the President of Algeria is head of state while the Prime Minister of Algeria is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the g ...
officially announced that Safia together with daughter Ayesha and sons Muhammad and Hannibal, had crossed into Algeria early on 29 August. An Algerian Foreign Ministry official said all the people in the convoy were now in
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...
, and that none of them had been named in warrants issued by the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...
for possible war crimes charges. Mourad Benmehidi, the Algerian permanent representative to 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 harmonizi ...
, later confirmed the details of the statement. The family had arrived at a
Sahara desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
entry point, in a Mercedes and a bus at 08:45. The number of people in the party was unconfirmed, but there were "many children" and they did not include Gaddafi. Resultantly the group was allowed in on humanitarian grounds, and the Algerian government had since informed the head of the Libyan National Transitional Council, who had made no official request for their return. In October 2012 they left a hideaway in Algeria to go to
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
, where they were granted
political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
.


Sanctions

The central bank of the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
ordered in March 2012 all banks and financial institutions in the country to freeze the accounts of Safia Farkash and other high-ranking officials of the Gaddafi regime. This order was declared in accordance with the UN Security Council's Resolution No. 1970 of 2011, addressing fifteen Libyans whose bank accounts had been frozen for their involvement in violence against the people of Libya. In April 2016, she was allowed to return to Libya by the government as part of their efforts to pacify Gaddafi loyalists.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farkash, Safia 1952 births Living people Gaddafi family First Ladies of Libya Libyan nurses Libyan people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Libyan people of Croatian descent Libyan people of Hungarian descent Libyan Muslims Spouses of national leaders Libyan emigrants to Oman People of the First Libyan Civil War Bayda, Libya