Ali Suleiman Aujali (, alternatively transliterated Ojli and Adjali) is a Libyan

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

who formerly served successively as Libya's ambassador to Malaysia, Argentina, Brazil and the United States. He served as ambassador under the

Gaddafi regime Muammar Gaddafi became the '' de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. When Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, the Revolutio ...

, as well as the governments 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 ...

, and the

General National Congress The General National Congress or General National Council (GNC; ) was the Legislature, legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It was elected by popular vote on 7 July 2012, and took power f ...

. He declined the post of foreign minister under Prime Minister

Ali Zeidan Ali Zeidan (sometimes written as Zidan; ; born 5 December 1950) is a former prime minister of Libya. He was appointed by the General National Congress on 14 October 2012, and took office on 14 November after Congress approved his cabinet nominee ...

in the government of the General National Congress.

Early life and education

Born in

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

in 1944, he received his BA in Business Administration from the

Benghazi University The University of Benghazi (), formerly known as Garyounis University, is a public university in Benghazi, Libya, the country's second-largest city as well as one of the most prestigious institutes of higher education in the country. It was fou ...

Career

Secretary Clinton Meets With Newly Credentialed Libyan Ambassador Aujali cropped

Aujali was first posted to the Libyan embassy in London as Third Secretary in 1971. In 1976 he was posted to the Libyan embassy in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia, before being promoted in 1981 to the post of Ambassador to Malaysia. Subsequently, Aujali was the Libyan ambassador to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

(1984–1988) and then

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(1988–1994). As Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2011 for the Gaddafi government, he was also known for defending the return of

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi ( , ; 1 April 1952 – 20 May 2012) was a Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am flight 103. He was head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Trip ...

to Libya. He also served as the

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(2001 to 2004). Aujali was formerly

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, , sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

on behalf of the

from 15 August 2011 to 1 November 2012. He previously held the position on behalf of the Gaddafi government from January 2009 until February 2011, when he resigned in the wake of the

Libyan Civil War 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 Yearbooks ...

. He joined the opposition National Transitional Council soon after; on 9 August the U.S. State Department confirmed that it had handed the Libyan embassy in Washington, D.C. to the NTC, and Aujali was re-accredited by the United States as Libya's Ambassador on 15 August 2011. In the October 2012 meeting of the

(GNC), Aujali was chosen to continue to be Ambassador to the United States. and subsequently was nominated for minister of foreign affairs by Ali Zidan at the end of October 2012. Although cabinet minister are sworn in on 14 November 2013, he could not since his investigation by the commission regarding his ties to former ruler of Libya,

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 ...

, was not completed until that day. The commission cleared him on 27 November. However, he was not sworn in and resigned on 31 December 2012. He continued in 2013 to be Libya's ambassador to the U.S., being succeeded by Ms. Wafa Bughaighis in November 2017. In 2018, Aujali joined the board of the National Council on US Libya Relations (NCULSR).

Press

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aujali, Ali Suleiman Living people University of Benghazi alumni Ambassadors of Libya to Argentina Ambassadors of Libya to Brazil Ambassadors of Libya to Malaysia Ambassadors of Libya to the United States People from Benghazi 1944 births 21st-century diplomats