Abdul Hamid Muhammad Abdul Rahman al-Dbeibeh (, also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

as Dbeibah) is a Libyan politician and businessman who is the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

under the

Government of National Unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

(GNU) in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

. Dbeibeh was appointed on 15 February 2021 through 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 "democratic legitimacy of Libyan institution ...

, and he was expected to hold the office until

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

on 24 December 2021, which were later postponed.

Early life and education

Dbeibeh was born in the western city of

Misrata Misrata ( ; , Libyan Arabic: ; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated to the east of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. ...

. Dbeibeh claimed to have earned a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in civil engineering from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1992; however, the university has denied Dbeibeh's claims. The information was published days prior to the December 24, 2021 Libyan elections, thus raising controversy over the Presidential candidate's false claims and fabrications in relation to his educational credentials. Under the Libyan electoral law, candidates are required to have a university degree from an accredited university.

Business career

Dbeibeh returned to Misrata during a construction boom, gaining the trust of Libyan leader

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 ...

, who appointed him as the head of Libyan Investment and Development Company (LIDCO), a major construction firm responsible for some of the country's biggest public works projects, including the construction of 1,000 housing units in the leader's hometown of

Sirte Sirte (; , ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, almost right in the middle between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups and loyal ...

. After Gaddafi’s fall in 2011, he was sanctioned for corruption by Libya’s new transitional government. Dbeibeh was the manager of the Al-Ittihad Football Club.

Political career

In 2020, he founded Libya al-Mustakbal (Libya Future) Movement. Al-Dabaiba campaigned jointly on the presidential ticket with

Mohamed al-Menfi Mohamed Yunus al-Menfi (; born 3 March 1976) is a Libyan diplomat and politician. On 5 February 2021, he was chosen as the president of the Libyan Presidential Council at the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum. Previously, he had served as the Lib ...

and

Musa Al-Koni Musa Al-Koni (; born 5 June 1951) is a Libyan politician and diplomat. He served as the deputy prime minister of Libya's Government of National Accord from March 2016 to 2 January 2017. He represented southern Libya, where he is from. He was al ...

as vice president. Al-Dabaiba's government is the first unified government since 2014. Dbeibeh was elected as

Prime Minister of Libya This article lists the heads of government of Libya since the country's independence in 1951. Libya has been in a tumultuous state since the start of the Arab Spring-related Libyan crisis in 2011; the crisis resulted in the collapse of the L ...

to lead a temporary unified executive in February 2021. Dbeibeh's list obtained 39 votes, five more than that of

Aguila Saleh Issa Aguila Saleh Issa Gueider (; born January 11, 1944) is a Libyan jurist and politician who is the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives (Libya), House of Representatives since 2014. He therefore served as the List of heads of state of Li ...

and

Fathi Bashagha Fathi Ali Abdul Salam Bashagha (; born 20 August 1962), known simply as "Fathi Bashagha" or occasionally Fathi Ali Pasha, is a Libyan politician and the former interim prime minister of Government of National Stability. He served as Minister of ...

. Dbeibeh faced accusations that he had attempted to bribe some of the delegates at the LPDF via his cousin, the wealthy businessman Ali al-Dbeibeh. The list including Aguila Saleh and Fathi Bashagha was perceived to be favoured by the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. The US ambassador denied any attempt to influence the electoral process. Dbeibeh was required under the agreements made by the LPDF to nominate a

cabinet of ministers A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...

and propose the selection to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

(HoR) for a vote of confidence by 26 February 2021, which was expected to establish the

. His position has been contested since 10 February 2022, after

was selected too as prime minister by the

Libyan House of Representatives Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook ...

. However, Dbeibeh rejected Bashagha's appointment as prime minister, stating that he will only hand power after a national election.

Khalifa Haftar Khalifa Haftar (; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA). In 2015, he was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the 2014 Libyan parliam ...

and his

Libya National Army The National Liberation Army (), officially the National Liberation Armed Forces of the Free Libyan Republic, formerly known as the Free Libyan Army, was a Libyan military organisation affiliated with the National Transitional Council, which was ...

welcomed Bashagha's appointment. On 10 February 2022, he survived an assassination attempt when assailants fired bullets into his car. According to a government source close to him, he was unharmed amid intense factional wrangling for government control. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

continues to recognize Dbeibeh as interim prime minister. In January 2024, Dbeibeh called for the restoration of the Libyan monarchy under

Mohammed El Senussi Prince Mohammed El Senussi (; Sayyid ''Mohammed er-Rida bin Seyyed Hasan er-Rida el-Mahdi es-Senussi''; occasionally spelled as "...Al Senussi", "as-Senussi", "al/el-Senussi"; born 20 October 1962) is the son of Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi of ...

as a solution to the instability in the country.

Personal life

He is the cousin and brother in law of Ali Ibrahim Dabaiba, previously the mayor of Misrata and head of state-owned development contractor LIDCO during the Gaddafi era, who was in 2012 on a list of sanctioned officials, subject of an

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

red notice and arrested in 2014. He is estimated to have embezzled as much as $7 billion at 2011 rates from contracts LIDCO had issued under his leadership, per Suisse secrets.

Criticism

Wolfgang Pusztai, a former

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n diplomat based in Libya, said that Dbeibeh's reputation was contentious for the prime ministership, since he was alleged to be involved in "corruption, money laundering, financing of the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

, vote buying". Pusztai felt that the truth of the claims was irrelevant to the political situation of 2021, since it was the perceptions that counted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dbeibeh, Abdul Hamid 1958 births Living people Libyan businesspeople Libyan monarchists People from Misrata Prime ministers of Libya Ministers of defence of Libya 21st-century Libyan politicians Independent politicians in Libya Libyan architects