Safia Farkash

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Safia Farkash
Fathia Nuri
Succeeded byNo Data
First Lady of African Union
In office
2 February 2009 – 31 January 2010
PresidentMuammar Gaddafi
Preceded bySalma Kikwete
Succeeded byCallista Chimombo
Personal details
Born (1952-05-02) 2 May 1952 (age 71)
Bayda, Libya
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1970; died 2011)​
Children7
RelativesFatima Farkash (sister)
Abdullah Senussi (brother-in-law)
Occupationbusinesswoman, politician

Safia Farkash Gaddafi (

family's regime
.

Early life

There are two different stories about her origin. One is that Farkash is from a family from the Eastern Libyan Barasa tribe and that she was born in Bayda and was trained as a nurse.[1]

The other story is that Farkash is from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she was born as "Zsófia Farkas"[2][3][4] to Hungarian parents.[a][5][2]

Personal life

She met Gaddafi when he was hospitalised and treated for appendicitis in 1970.[6] She became his second wife when they married in Tripoli during the same year.[7][8][9]

Farkash has seven biological children with Gaddafi and two adopted children:

  • Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (born 25 June 1972), her eldest son, was an architect who was long-rumored to be Gaddafi's successor. He has been a spokesman to the Western world, and he has negotiated treaties with Italy and the United States. He was viewed as politically moderate, and in 2006, after criticizing his father's government, he briefly left Libya. In 2007, Gaddafi exchanged angry letters with his son regarding his son's statements admitting the Bulgarian nurses had been tortured. They later reconciled.[10]
  • Al-Saadi Gaddafi (born 25 May 1973), was a professional football player. On 22 August 2011, he was allegedly arrested by the National Liberation Army.[11] This turned out to be incorrect. In the late evening of 22 August 2011, he spoke with members of the international press.[12] On 30 August, a senior National Transitional Council official claimed that Al-Saadi Gaddafi had made contact to discuss the terms of his surrender, indicating also that he would wish to remain in Libya.[13]
  • Mutassim Gaddafi (18 December 1974 – 20 October 2011), Gaddafi's fourth son, was a lieutenant colonel in the Libyan Army. He later served as Libya's National Security Advisor. He was seen as a possible successor to his father, after Saif al-Islam. Mutassim was killed along with his father after the battle of Sirte.[14]
  • Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi (born 20 September 1976),[15][16] was an employee of the General National Maritime Transport Company, a company that specialized in oil exports. He is most-known for his violent incidents in Europe, attacking police officers in Italy (2001), drunk driving (2004), and for assaulting his girlfriend in Paris (2005).[17] In 2008, he was charged with assaulting two staff in Switzerland, and was imprisoned by Swiss police. The arrest created a strong standoff between Libya and Switzerland.[18]
  • Ayesha Gaddafi (born 25 December 1977),[19] Farkash's only biological daughter, is a lawyer who joined the defense teams of executed former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi.[7] In 2006, she married a cousin of her father's, Ahmed al-Gaddafi al-Qahsi, with whom she has four children (as of 2011).[20] Two of her children were killed by NATO airstrikes (one with her brother Saif al-Arab Gaddafi on 30 April 2011 and the other with her husband Ahmed al-Gaddafi al-Qahsi 26 July 2011). She gave birth to her fourth child in Algeria on 30 August 2011 in Algeria after the death of her husband and two children.
  • Libyan Civil War. Saif al-Arab and three of Farkash's grandchildren were reported killed by a NATO bombing in April 2011. Like the death of Hanna, this is disputed by the organizations alleged to be responsible.[21]
  • Khamis Gaddafi (27 May 1983 – 29 August 2011), her sixth son, who was serving as the commander of the Libyan Army's elite Khamis Brigade. On 30 August 2011, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council said it was "almost certain" Khamis had been killed in Tarhuna during clashes with units of the National Liberation Army.[22]

She and Gaddafi are rumored to have adopted two children, Hanna and Milad.[23][24]

  • Daily Telegraph that Gaddafi adopted a second daughter and named her Hana in honour of the first one who was killed.[30]

The family's main residence was in the Bab al-Azizia military barracks, located in the southern suburbs of Tripoli.

Business and other interests

Farkash kept a low profile during the initial period of her marriage to Gaddafi; however, after the release on license of

Mittiga International Airport.[1]

Libyan Civil War

Main article:
2011 Libyan Civil War

Farkash stayed with her husband and family through the

Libyan Civil War, at their home in Tripoli. After a first round of United Nations sanctions froze the overseas assets of Libya and those personally held by Gaddafi, the governments of France and the United Kingdom enabled a second round of sanctions, which froze an estimated £18 billion of state and personal assets controlled by Farkash.[31] In May 2011, she gave her first press interview to CNN reporter Nima Elbagir, via mobile telephone.[32]

As the

political asylum.[36]

Sanctions

The central bank of the

UN Security Council's Resolution No. 1970 of 2011, addressing fifteen Libyans whose bank accounts had been frozen for their involvement in violence against the people of Libya.[37] In April 2016, she was allowed to return to Libya by the government as part of their efforts to pacify Gaddafi loyalists.[38]

Notes

  1. ^ "Farkas", meaning "wolf", is a common Hungarian family name. "Brassai" is another common Hungarian family name, meaning "someone from Brassó"

References

  1. ^ a b "Libya's first lady owns 20 tons of gold". Al Arabiya. 6 March 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Budapest Report – Gaddafi's wife revealed to be Hungarian". Budapest Report. 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Word View from Off the Strip – Gaddafi's wife Safiya". Word View from Off the Strip. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Aus Zsófia Farkas wurdeSafiya al-Barassi al-Gaddafi". Journal. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Gaddafi Could Seek Refuge in Croatia or Serbia? Not Likely". Isa Intel. 29 August 2011. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  6. ^ "United Nations - SC/10541". Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  7. ^ a b Charkow, Ryab (22 February 2011). "Moammar Gadhafi and his family". CBC News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  8. ^ "Mandela hails South Africa election results". CNN. 6 June 1999. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  9. ^ "OMG: Gaddafi's Wife is Hungarian! - Pestiside.hu". Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Libya's Gaddaffi Angry with His Son for Admitting Torture of Bulgarian Nurses". The Sofia Echo. 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  11. ^ Waxman, Sharon (21 August 2011). "Saadi Gadhafi, Hollywood Investor and Dictator's Son, Arrested". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  12. ^ Ryan, Missy (23 August 2011). "Gaddafi son Saif at Tripoli hotel after arrest report". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  13. ^ "Gaddafi's son 'ready to surrender'". Al Jazeera English. 30 August 2011. Archived from the original on 1 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Libya 20 October 2011|Al Jazeera Blogs". Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  15. ^ "Gaddafi's son reveals details about his abduction from Syria – Middle East Monitor". Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  16. ^ "INTERPOL issues global alert following threat identified in UN sanctions resolution targeting Libya's Colonel Al-Qadhafi and others". Interpol. 4 March 2011. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  17. ^ Bremner, Charles (4 February 2005). "Hannibal gives Gaddafi a bad name". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  18. ^ Tages-Anzeiger, 17 August 2009 Archived 8 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine; The Australian, 17 August 2009 Archived 2 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. Washington Post blogs. Archived
    from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  21. ^ "Qaddafi Is Said to Survive NATO Airstrike That Kills Son" The New York Times 30 April 2011 [1] Archived 1 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Gaddafi son Khamis, spy chief believed dead: rebels". Reuters. 30 August 2011. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  23. ^ "Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi v. The Daily Telegraph". 21 August 2002. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
  24. ^ The Gaddafi family tree Archived 18 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 21 February 2011
  25. ^ name spelling per English language class certificate shown in reference
  26. ^ "See Accuracy in Media article here". Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  27. ^ Wong, Curtis (9 August 2011). "Hana Gaddafi, Libyan Leader's Presumed Dead Daughter, May Be Still Alive: Reports". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  28. ^ "Dental records for Hana Gaddafi reopen mystery of Libyan leader's daughter". Feb17.info. 12 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  29. ^ Anthony Shadid (27 August 2011). "Enigmatic in Power, Qaddafi Is Elusive at Large". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "Dental Records for Hanna Gaddafi reopen mystery of Muammar Gaddafi's daughter". The Daily Telegraph. London. 12 August 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  31. ^ "Britain seeks UN help to target Gaddafi wife's £18bn". This Is London. 19 April 2011. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  32. ^ CNN: First Interview with Gaddafi's Wife Safia | Archived 5 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ a b Harding, Luke; Chulov, Martin; Stephen, Chris (29 August 2011). "Gaddafi's family escape Libya net to cross into Algeria". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  34. ^ "Libya conflict: Gaddafi family 'flee to Algeria'". BBC News. 29 August 2011. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  35. ^ Fahim, Kareem; MacFarquhar, Neil (29 August 2011). "Qaddafi's Wife and 3 of His Children Flee to Algeria". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  36. ^ "Muammar Gaddafi's Daughter Thrown Out of Algeria After Starting Fires in Safe House". Time. 3 April 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  37. ^ a b Haider, Haseeb (9 March 2012). "UAE freezes bank accounts of Gaddafi's wife, aide". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  38. ^ Freeman, Colin (13 October 2016). "Gaddafi's widow allowed back to Libya as part of 'reconciliation' drive". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
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