| Mahdi al-Harati | |
| Office: | Mayor of Tripoli[1] |
| Term Start: | June 2014 |
| Term End: | 20 August 2015[2] |
| Predecessor: | Sadat Al Badri |
| Successor: | Abdul-Rahman Al-Ghillai (acting) |
| Birth Place: | Tripoli, Libya |
| Allegiance: |  National Transitional Council (2011)Syrian National Council (2012) |
| Branch: | National Liberation Army |
| Rank: | Commander/Colonel |
| Commands: | Tripoli Brigade Liwaa al-Umma |
| Battles: | Libyan Civil War Syrian Civil War |
| Battles Label: | Conflicts |
Mahdi al-Harati (born c. 1973) is an Irish-Libyan politician and former co-commander of the Tripoli Brigade during the Libyan Civil War.[3] He was also the commander of Liwaa Al-Umma, a militant group fighting against the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war.[4]
Before the Libyan civil war he was an Arabic teacher in Dublin, where he lived with his Irish-born wife and family.[5]
He was described by Volkskrant, a Dutch daily newspaper, as being a face of the Battle of Tripoli and one of the most important rebel commanders of the Libyan civil war.[6] The Sunday Times, a British newspaper, offered a first-hand account of Al-Mahdi's advance on Tripoli and his men's assault on Gaddafi's former residence, Bab Al-Azizia.[7] He was appointed second in command of the newly formed Tripoli Military Council.
On 11 October 2011, Al-Harati resigned as deputy head of the Tripoli Military Council, amid tensions over security in the capital. According to the Irish Times, while Al-Harati's associates in Tripoli assured that the resignation was for "personal reasons", a senior NTC official quoted by CNN said that the resignation was because of "differences with the National Transitional Council on the planning of the security of Tripoli". Fathi Al-Wersali, a member of the Tripoli Military Council, stated that Al-Harati would continue as commander of the Tripoli brigade.[8]
Following his involvement in the Libyan civil war al-Harati went on a fact-finding mission to Syria where, following discussions with members of the Syrian opposition, he decided to form the militant group Liwaa Al-Umma. After six months leading Liwaa Al-Umma, Al-Harati left the brigade in September 2012[4] and handed over its command to the Free Syrian Army.[9]
In 2014, Al-Harati was elected mayor of Libya's capital city of Tripoli.[10]
On 27 February 2017, Al-Harati was the victim of a sectarian attack in which he was arrested in Malta along with two men who attacked him.[11]
Al Harati was placed on a ban list[12] [13] [14] by, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other countries for links to supporting Terrorism[15] and Al Nusra front in Syria and for Terrorism related activities with Links to Qatari sponsorship. The ban list ensued the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis which a number of nations cut ties with Qatar for its alleged "financial support of international terrorism".