Al-Khweldi Muhammad Salih Abdullah El-Hamedi (Arabic الخويلدي محمد الحميدي; 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, and the first Secretary General of the Libyan Popular National Movement.[1][2] He was part of Gaddafi's inner circle.[3]
Khweldi Hameidi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 1943 |
| Died | 27 July 2015 |
| Occupation | General |
| Spouse | Aisha |
| Relatives | Khaled K. El-Hamedi (son) Al-Saadi Gaddafi (son-in-law) |
Biography
editEarly and personal life
editHameidi was born in Surman in 1943. His father owned a farm between Surman and Sabratha. He attended primary school in Surman, secondary school in Zawiya, and graduated from the Benghazi Military University Academy as a second lieutenant in 1965. His first military assignment was with the Royal Battalion in Derna. He was subsequently appointed assistant commander of the 1st Idris Battalion in Sabha and later Tarhuna.[1]
He married his cousin Aisha al-Hamidi in 1970. His wife was a history professor and earned a master's degree from the Al-Fateh University in Tripoli.[1] They had six daughters and three sons, including Khaled K. El-Hamedi, the president of Libyan NGO, International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief. One of his daughters is married to Gaddafi's son Al-Saadi Gaddafi.[2][4]
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.[5]
Career under Gaddafi
editHameidi 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.[6][2] After the successful coup, Hameidi was part of the twelve men that formed the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (RCC).[7]
In August 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.[8] The coup failed; Muhayshi fled to Tunisia and another RCC member suspected of disloyalty, Abdul-Munim al-Huni, fled to Egypt.[9][10] Hawady and Hamza were arrested.[8] The RCC was ultimately reduced to only five members: Gaddafi, Abdessalam Jalloud, Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr, Mustafa Kharubi, and Hameidi.[11][12][13] All five were from poor or lower-middle-class background.
Hameidi served as interior minister, chief of military intelligence, and head of the military courts in the Gaddafi government.[2][1] He was also a member of General Provisional Committee for Defense.[3]
Libyan Civil War
editWhen the First Libyan Civil War broke out in February 2011, Hameidi did not hold any official political or executive office as he was retired. He did, however, continue to enjoy close personal relationship with Gaddafi due to his daughter's marriage to Gaddafi's son Saadi.[14] Hameidi reportedly received a field command in Zawiya during the civil war.[2][15]
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.[16][15] A total of 15 family members, including three children, were killed by NATO's bombs.[17][18][5] NATO claimed his home was being used as a "command center" by Gaddafi and thus a legitimate target.[14][5] Hameidi's son Khaled claimed NATO had tried to assassinate Khweldi Hameidi in order to demoralize the Gaddafi regime.[17] On 24 June 2011, an impassioned Hameidi spoke to Western journalists next to his demolished house with Moussa Ibrahim serving as the translator.[19]
After the Battle of Tripoli, Hameidi fled to Tunisia, where he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized in Tunis. Tunisia accused him of entering the country illegally.[14]
Exile
editHameidi never stood trial in Tunisia and was not deported to Libya. He reportedly spent time in Morocco before settling in Egypt. In February 2012, the Libyan Popular National Movement was founded by Gaddafi loyalists in exile and Hameidi served as its first Secretary General. The party was banned from participating in the 2012 Libyan parliamentary election.[20][2]
Death
editHameidi suffered another heart attack and died in Cairo on 27 July 2015. He was either 72 or 75.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "El-khweldi - Elhamedi". 2022-01-03. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ash, Nigel (2015-07-27). "Qaddafi collaborator Khuwaildi Al-Hamidi dies of heart attack". LibyaHerald. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ a b "Inside Gaddafi's inner circle". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "INVISIBLE DOG - KHADAFI'S LIBYA AND TODAY'S LIBYA". www.invisible-dog.com. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ a b c "A man of peace or a henchman?". The Seattle Times. 2011-06-20. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
- ^ Harris 1986, p. 14; Blundy & Lycett 1987, pp. 57–59; Simons 1996, pp. 177–178; Kawczynski 2011, p. 18.
- ^ "Libya Names 12 Members Of Revolutionary Counci". The New York Times. 1970-01-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ a b Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Libya: The role of Omar al-Meheshi in Colonel Qaddafi's revolution; his activities in the 1975 coup attempt and in developing opposition movements in Morocco and Egypt (1969 - present)". Refworld. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–9, Part 1, Documents on North Africa, 1973–1976 - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ "Libya - Exiled Opposition". www.country-data.com. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ Ufheil-Somers, Amanda (1986-11-04). "Libya's Revolution Revisited". MERIP. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ Ash, Nigel (2015-07-17). "Cancer kills top Qaddafi aide ten days before trial verdict". LibyaHerald. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ "اكتشف 10 معلومات عن اللواء مصطفى الخروبي". www.afrigatenews.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ a b c Al-awsat, Asharq. "Middle-east Arab News Opinion". eng-archive.aawsat.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ a b Hopkins, Nick (2011-06-21). "Libya says new Nato missile attack killed three children". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
- ^ "Fresh Libya civilian deaths pile pressure on NATO". Reuters. 2011-06-20. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
- ^ a b H (2017-11-15). "Khalid al-Khuwaildi al-Humaidi: Prosecuting NATO for War Crimes in Libya". Herland Report. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ "Anatomy Of A NATO War Crime By Franklin Lamb". countercurrents.org. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ Martyrdom of Khuwaildi al Hamedi's family (2 of 2).wmv, retrieved 2023-02-13
- ^ Prashad, Vijay (2015-10-28). "The detritus of regime change in Libya". www.newarab.com/. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
Works cited
edit- Blundy, David; Lycett, Andrew (1987). Qaddafi and the Libyan Revolution. Little Brown & Co. ISBN 978-0-316-10042-7.
- Harris, Lillian Craig (1986). Libya: Qadhafi's Revolution and the Modern State. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. ISBN 978-0-8133-0075-7.
- Kawczynski, Daniel (2011). Seeking Gaddafi: Libya, the West and the Arab Spring. London: Biteback. ISBN 978-1-84954-148-0.
- Simons, Geoff (1996). Libya: The Struggle for Survival (second ed.). Houndmills and London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-23038-011-0.