Mohammed Magariaf
Mohammed Yousef el-Magariaf (also written as Magariaf, Elmegaryaf or Almegaryaf)[1] or, as he writes on his official website, Dr. Mohamed Yusuf Al Magariaf[2] (Arabic: محمد يوسف المقريف; born 1940), is a Libyan politician who served as the President of the General National Congress from its first meeting in August 2012 until his resignation in May 2013. In this role he was effectively Libya's de facto head of state,[3][4][5] until his resignation in May 2013.[6]
Mohamed Magariaf
Mohammed Ali Salim (Acting)
Mustafa Abdul Jalil (Chairperson of the National Transitional Council)
Giuma Ahmed Atigha (Acting)
Nouri Abusahmain
Position established
National Front Party (2012–present)
National Front for the Salvation of Libya (1981–2012)
Magariaf is the leader of the National Front Party, which won three seats in the 2012 election, and he was previously well known for having founded and been the first leader of the National Front for the Salvation of Libya against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.[7]
Early life and opposition career[edit]
Early career[edit]
A resident of Benghazi, he studied Economics at the University of Benghazi.
He served from 1972 to 1977 as head of the board of auditors at the Libyan Arab Republic's Revenue Court, where he proved uncomfortable for the regime because of his anti-corruption stance and was subsequently designated Libya's Ambassador to India. After being recalled to Libya in 1980, he announced his defection in Morocco due to his certainty that he would be purged on return.[8] He survived at least three assassination attempts.[9]
With the NFSL: 1984-2011[edit]
On 8 May 1984, el-Magariaf directed commandos from the National Front for the Salvation of Libya led by Ahmed Ibrahim Ihwas in an attempt to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi, via an attack on Gaddafi's headquarters. The attack failed.[8] Al-Magariaf, the "National Front for the Salvation of Libya" broadcast opposition propaganda into Libya. Magariaf dedicated himself to overthrowing the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya with violence.[10]
In response, Gaddafi later targeted Al-Magariaf. Subsequent to the founding of the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, el-Magariaf is one of few people who knew he was targeted by Gaddafi's bombing of UTA Flight 772 in 1989.
The NFSL was founded in 1981, as the first opposition group pushing for democratic reforms in Libya.[8] The NFSL called for a democratic government with constitutional guarantees, free and fair elections, free press, separation of powers, non-discriminatory rule of law, gender equality, multi-partyism,[11] sustainable development, and a realistic democratic road-map that benefits from Libyan, Arab and Islamic traditions as well as democratic learning from Nelson Mandela's democratisation experience from South Africa, amongst others.[12] At the onset of the Libyan Civil War, Magariaf remained active in engaging with his political contacts, in an effort to gain international support for himself and the Libyan people.