Libya's Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who crushed dissent then sought political comeback, dies at 53

Reuters ^ | 02 03 2026 | Michael Georgy

[yesthatjallen]

Libya's Saif al-Islam Gaddafi went from his notorious father's heir apparent to a decade of captivity and obscurity in a remote hill town before launching a presidential bid that helped derail an attempted election.

He has been killed, sources close to the family, his lawyer Khaled el-Zaydi and Libyan media said on Tuesday.

Details surrounding the circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.

Despite holding no official position, he was once seen as the most powerful figure in the oil-rich North African country after his autocrat father Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled for more than four decades.

Saif al-Islam shaped policy and mediated high-profile, sensitive diplomatic missions.

He led talks on Libya abandoning its weapons of mass destruction and negotiated compensation for the families of those killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.

Determined to rid Libya of its pariah status, Saif al-Islam engaged with the West and championed himself as a reformer, calling for a constitution and respect for human rights.

Educated at the London School of Economics and a fluent English speaker, he was once seen by many governments as the acceptable, Western-friendly face of Libya.

SNIP

[PGR88]

Hillary and Barack’s excellent adventure in Libya is still paying-out in death and destruction 14 years later.

[fireman15]

Barack and Hillary are very responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands if not millions that are still going on today. They are largely responsible along with Biden for the debacle in Ukraine. None of this would have taken place if the 2020 election had not been stollen. Our Zeeper contingent owes their existence to those three along with the NATO Global Homo organization... Putin predictably tried to take advantage of the situation that this group of geniuses created.