Al Khwaldi Al Hamedi

Al-Khweldi Muhammad Salih Abdullah El-Hamedi (; January 1943 – 27 July 2015), also transliterated as Khuwailidi al-Humaidi, was a Libyan major general under Muammar Gaddafi, founding member of the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council. He was part of Gaddafi's inner circle. After the fall of Gaddafi, Hameidi went into exile. He associated with other Gaddafi loyalists and was the first Secretary General of the Libyan Popular National Movement.

Biography

Early life and education Hameidi was born in Surman in January 1943. He attended primary school in Surman, secondary school in Zawiya, and graduated from the Benghazi Military University Academy as a second lieutenant in 1965. One of his daughters is married to Gaddafi's son Al-Saadi Gaddafi.

He was an avid collector of arts, including Chinese porcelain and African ebony sculptures. He also had a passion for raising animals, such as falconry, Arabian horses, deer, and songbirds.

Career under Gaddafi Hameidi played a leading role in the 1969 Libyan coup d'état that overthrew King Idris and brought Muammar Gaddafi to power. Hameidi was specifically tasked with seizing the radio station in Tripoli and arresting the crown prince Hasan as-Senussi.

In the summer of 1975, Planning Minister Umar Muhayshi, Bashir al-Saghir Hawady, and Awad Ali Hamza, who were all part of the 12-member RCC, led a coup against Gaddafi. The coup failed; Muhayshi fled to Tunisia and another RCC member suspected of disloyalty, Abdul-Munim al-Huni, fled to Egypt. Hawady and Hamza were arrested.

Hameidi served as interior minister, chief of military intelligence, and head of the military courts in the Gaddafi government. Hameidi reportedly received a field command in Zawiya during the civil war.

Due to his perceived closeness with the Gaddafi family and his refusal to defect, Hameidi and his family became a target for NATO during its military intervention in Libya. His home, located near Surman, was bombed by NATO on 19 June 2011, which resulted in the death of his daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.