Tayeb el-Safi (Arabic:الطيب الصافي; born 1954) is a Libyan political operative. He briefly served as minister of economy & trade and was one of the closest aides of former Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi during theLibyan Civil War.[1][2] In the 1980s, he had several international postings, primarily in Europe, at a time when many anti-Gaddafi dissidents were being assassinated extrajudicially abroad as a result of Gaddafi's "stray dog" policy.[3][4][5]
El-Safi is a native ofTobruk and later spent time inTajura, where he caught the attention of Gaddafi.[3]
He was a shadowy figure who was virtually unknown by both Libyans and international observers until frequent communications between him and senior leadership of Gaddafi's government, includingGaddafi,Abdullah Senussi,Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, andBaghdadi Mahmudi, were leaked byAl Jazeera in 2012.[2][6][7] El-Safi took a key role in attempting to put down the anti-Gaddafi opposition and orchestrated pro-Gaddafi propaganda and rallies. After thefall of Tripoli, El-Safi fled to Egypt. He was among an estimated 50,000Gaddafi loyalists who fled to Egypt and among the most high-profile, along withTohami Khaled,Ali Treki, andAhmed Gaddaf al-Dam.[8] Despite the request of theNational Transitional Council, he was not extradited for trial.[1]
In 2016, El-Safi returned to Libyan politics and aligned himself withKhalifa Haftar'sOperation Dignity.[9] In April 2016, Haftar's Air Force head Fakir Jarroushi confirmed that El-Safi had returned to Libya and had a meeting with Haftar inMarj.[10] In November 2016, El-Safi publicly called for "comprehensive reconciliation" between the three rival governments in Libya andGaddafi loyalists. He also criticized theUN-sponsoredSkhirat Agreement that created theGovernment of National Accord as lacking legitimacy and the GNA-appointed Prime MinisterFayez al-Sarraj as only having legality from international support rather than "legality from the Libyan people."[11]
In June 2017, El-Safi claimedSaif al-Islam Gaddafi was released from prison due to a general amnesty and was with his family and tribe.[12]
In May 2018, prominent Gaddafi loyalists, including El-Safi,Abdul Majid al-Qa′ud,Mohamed Abu al-Qasim al-Zwai, Mustafa Zaidi, andSaleh Rajab, publicly organized a forum in Haftar-controlledBenghazi named "The Preparatory Forum for National Forces," where they announced their support forHaftar and claimed that they wanted to save Libya from "terrorism, chaos, and foreign intervention."[13]