Mahmoud Jibril | |
|---|---|
محمود جبريل | |
.jpg) Jibril in 2011 | |
| Prime Minister of Libya | |
| In office 5 March 2011 – 23 October 2011 | |
| President | Mustafa Abdul Jalil |
| Deputy | Ali Abd-al-Aziz al-Isawi Ali Tarhouni |
| Preceded by | Baghdadi Mahmudi |
| Succeeded by | Ali Tarhouni (Acting) |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 5 March 2011 – 22 November 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself Ali Tarhouni (Acting) Abdurrahim El-Keib |
| Preceded by | Abdul Ati al-Obeidi |
| Succeeded by | Ashour Bin Khayal |
| Leader of the National Forces Alliance | |
| In office 14 March 2012 – 5 April 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | TBD |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mahmoud Jibril el-Warfally (1952-05-28)28 May 1952[1] |
| Died | 5 April 2020(2020-04-05) (aged 67) |
| Cause of death | Cardiac arrest and complications fromCOVID-19 |
| Party | National Forces Alliance |
| Alma mater | Cairo University University of Pittsburgh |
Mahmoud Jibril el-Warfally[4] (Arabic:محمود جبريل الورفلي), also transcribedJabril orJebril orGebril (28 May 1952 – 5 April 2020),[5] was aLibyan politician who served as the interimPrime Minister of Libya for seven and a half months during the overthrow ofMuammar Gaddafi and theLibyan Civil War, chairing the executive board of theNational Transitional Council (NTC) from 5 March to 23 October 2011.[6][7] He also served as the Head of International Affairs.[8] As of July 2012[update], Jibril was the head of one of the largest political parties in Libya, theNational Forces Alliance.[9]
Toward the end of the conflict, Jibril was increasingly referred to by foreign governments and in media as the interim prime minister of Libya.[10] Jibril's government was recognized as the "sole legitimate representative" of Libya by themajority of UN states includingFrance,Turkey, theUnited Kingdom, theUnited States,Iran, andQatar.[11][12]
Jibril graduated in Economics and Political Science fromCairo University in 1975,[13] then earned a master's degree in political science in 1980 and a doctorate in political science in 1985, both from theUniversity of Pittsburgh.[14]
Jibril led the team which drafted and formed the Unified Arab Training manual.[15] He was also responsible for organizing and administering the first two training conferences in theArab world in the years 1987 and 1988.[16] He later took over the management and administration of many of the leadership training programs for senior management in Arab countries includingBahrain,Egypt,Jordan,Kuwait,Libya,Morocco,Saudi Arabia,Tunisia, and theUnited Arab Emirates.[13]
From 2007 to early 2011, he served in theGaddafi regime as head of the National Planning Council of Libya and of the National Economic Development Board of Libya (NEDB).[17] While there, he was a protégé and close friend ofSaif al-Islam Gaddafi and promotedprivatization andliberalization policies.[18][19][20]
On 23 March 2011, amidst theLibyan Civil War, theNational Transitional Council officially formed a transitional government and Jibril was appointed to head it.[21] Jibril led meetings and negotiations withFrench PresidentNicolas Sarkozy, a meeting that resulted in France officially recognizing the National Transitional Council as the sole representative of the Libyan people.[11] He also met with UK Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague and then-U.S. Ambassador to LibyaGene Cretz, successfully persuading them to publicly back the NTC.[22]
Following his appointment as the NTC's head of government, Jibril was referred to by foreign officials as both as the interim prime minister[23] and the chairman of the Executive Board,[24] the title attributed to him by the NTC official website.[6] References to Jibril as the prime minister, including by news organisations,[25] foreign government ministries[26] and world leaders,[27] increased significantly after rebelsenteredTripoli in late August 2011.
In his capacity as the NTC's top diplomat, Jibril was also referred to as the council's foreign minister,[28][29] though this may have been a colloquial title.Qatar-based news organizationAl Jazeera English also called him "the NTC's chief of staff" on at least one occasion.[30]
The Executive Board was sackeden masse by decision of the NTC on 8 August over its sluggish response to the assassination of GeneralAbdul Fatah Younis,Benghazi's top commander.[31] Jibril was asked to form a new board subject to the council's approval.[32] Though Jibril stayed on as the board's chairman, a spokesman for the NTC said he would be required to spend less time out of the country.[33]
On 21 August, amidst theBattle of Tripoli, Jibril gave a televised speech urging revolutionary fighters against looting,revenge killing, abusing foreign nationals, and mistreatingprisoners of war.[34] He also called for unity and asked that police and army units inTripoli disavow Gaddafi but remain at their posts. Jibril declared, "Today, all Libya's people are allowed to participate in the building of the future to build institutions with the aid of a constitution that does not differentiate between a man and a woman, sects or ethnicities. Libya is for everyone and will now be for everyone. Libya has the right to create an example that will be followed in the Arab region."[35]
In September, Jibril "proposed 36 names for a new cabinet, including friends and relatives, and retained the prime minister and foreign minister slots for himself." He later retracted the proposal when NTC members objected, but an anonymous council official said it had "left a bitter taste".[36]
On 3 October 2011, Jibril announced that he would resign from government once the country had been "liberated".[37] He later specified this meant the capture ofSirte from loyalist holdouts.[38] On 20 October 2011, Sirte wascaptured andMuammar Gaddafi was killed. Keeping his promise to leave at the war's end, Jibril resigned three days later. He was succeeded byAbdurrahim El-Keib on 31 October.[39]
In 2012, Jibril became a member of the newly founded political union, theNational Forces Alliance. On 14 March 2012, he was elected leader of the alliance. Jibril represented his party in theGeneral National Congress election.[40]
In the national elections of 7 July 2012, Jibril described his party as a supporter ofdemocracy and also as an advocate ofSharia.[41] The NFA won the largest number of seats inthese elections.[40] At the time, Jibril ran for a second term as prime minister. Jibril won the first round of voting, with 86 votes, significantly more than the 55 votes obtained by his primary opponent,Mustafa Abushagur.[42] However, in the second round of voting, Abushagur ultimately defeated Jibril.[43]
On 21 March 2020, Jibril suffered acardiac arrest, and was admitted to the Ganzouri Specialized Hospital inCairo, Egypt. Three days later, he tested positive forCOVID-19, which he died from on 5 April 2020, at the age of 67.[44]
He also wrote several books and ran leadership training programmes in several Arab states.
Media related toMahmoud Jibril at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Libya 2011 | Succeeded by Ali Tarhouni Acting |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Position established | Leader of theNational Forces Alliance 2012–2020 | Vacant |
| Kingdom of Libya (1951–1969) |  .svg) .svg) .svg) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libya under Gaddafi (1969–2011) |
| ||||
| Transitional period (2011–present) | |||||
Italics indicate acting officeholder | |||||
| Events by country | |
|---|---|
| Groups |
|
| Notable people |
|
| Role of the Internet | |
| Impact | |
| UN Resolutions | |
| International reactions | |
| Domestic reactions | |
| Timelines by country | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
