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Omar El-Hariri

1944 – 2015

Minister of Military Affairs of the National Transitional Council of Libya

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About Omar El-Hariri

Lived 1944 – 2015 (aged 70–71). Omar El-Hariri was a Libyan politician and soldier.

Omar Mokhtar El-Hariri (; – 2 November 2015) was a leading figure of the National Transitional Council of Libya who served as the Minister of Military Affairs in 2011, during the Libyan Civil War. He controlled the National Liberation Army and the Free Libyan Air Force from March to May 2011. He served on the council executive board before being replaced by Jalal al-Digheily, and he headed Military Affairs in the unicameral National Transitional Council legislature.

El-Hariri was involved in the initial 1969 coup against the monarchy that began Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule of Libya. He organised a plot to overthrow Gaddafi in 1975. When the coup was uncovered, 300 men were arrested, four of whom died during interrogation. Of the remainder, 21 were sentenced to death, including El-Hariri. He was imprisoned for 15 years from 1975 to 1990 under a death sentence, with four and a half years in solitary confinement. Gaddafi commuted the sentence in 1990 and El-Hariri was subsequently placed under house arrest until the Libyan civil war broke out in 2011. After breaking free of his detention, El-Hariri eventually became the political head of the National Transitional Council's armed forces.

On 19 May 2011, The Economist reported Jalal al-Digheily had been appointed "defense minister". Al Jazeera and the Jamestown Foundation later confirmed that Digheily had replaced El-Hariri. Unlike El-Hariri, Digheily was reportedly given a seat on the executive board of the National Transitional Council, while the "military affairs" department that El-Hariri had headed was afforded a seat on the council itself.

He died in a road accident on 2 November 2015 on the road between Al Bayda and Al Qubbah.

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Important facts

Born
1944, Libya
Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Positions held
Defence minister, Minister of Defence

People in Omar El-Hariri's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Omar El-Hariri's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Omar El-Hariri?

Minister of Military Affairs of the National Transitional Council of Libya (1944–2015)

When was Omar El-Hariri born?

Omar El-Hariri was born in 1944 in Libya.

When did Omar El-Hariri die?

Omar El-Hariri died on 2 November 2015 in Al Bayda.

What was Omar El-Hariri's occupation?

Omar El-Hariri was a politician and soldier.

What nationality was Omar El-Hariri?

Omar El-Hariri was Libyan.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Omar El-Hariri

· Wikidata: Q2023088

· DBpedia: Omar El-Hariri

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Omar El-Hariri. https://biography.guide/omar-el-hariri/

MLA: "Omar El-Hariri." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/omar-el-hariri/.

Chicago: "Omar El-Hariri." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/omar-el-hariri/.

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