Muhammad Muammar Gaddafi (; born 15 March 1970) is the eldest son of the former 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 ...

. While he was regarded as a possible successor to his father as ruler of Libya, he was reportedly uninterested in the role. In 2005, Muhammad was involved in an armed standoff with his half-brother Mutassim over the control of a

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

bottling plant. He was also the chairman of the General Posts and Telecommunications Company which owned and operated cell phone and satellite services in Libya and the temporary head of the Libyan Football Federation at the time. The company is the exclusive internet provider in Libya, and immediately after the beginning of protests against the Gaddafi government in February 2011 which led to the Libyan Civil War, it cut internet links between Libya and the rest of the world.

Libyan civil war

On 30 April 2011, one of Muhammad's children was killed by a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

airstrike along with his half-brother Saif al-Arab Gaddafi. Muhammad was among the 2,000 mourners at Saif al-Arab's funeral along with his half-brother Saif al-Islam on 2 May 2011. On 21 August 2011, Muhammad surrendered to rebel forces 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 ...

as they took over Tripoli. While being in custody in his home, he gave a phone interview to Al Jazeera, saying that he surrendered to the rebels and had been treated well before the line went dead from apparent gunfire. The

head later spoke to Al Jazeera assuring Muhammad's safety. Muhammad spoke to Al Jazeera again confirming his safety and that of his family. On 22 August 2011, he escaped reportedly with the help of Gaddafi loyalists.

In exile

On 29 August 2011, he entered

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

along with several other members of the Gaddafi family. In October 2012, they left a hideaway in Algeria to go to

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, where they were granted political asylum. As of 2023, he was reported to reside in the Sultanate of Oman.

References

People of the Libyan civil war (2011) 1970 births

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

Libyan Arab Socialist Union politicians Living people Libyan escapees Escapees from Libyan detention Libyan emigrants to Oman Libyan exiles Children of heads of state Children of prime ministers {{Libya-politician-stub