Mohamed Abu al-Qasim al-Zwai explained

Mohamed Abu al-Qasim al-Zwai
Office:Secretary General of General People's Congress of Libya
Leader:Muammar Gaddafi
Primeminister:Baghdadi Mahmudi
Term Start:26 January 2010
Term End:23 August 2011
Predecessor:Imbarek Shamekh
Birth Date:1952 5, df=yes

Mohamed Abu al-Qasim al-Zwai (born 14 May 1952) is a Libyan politician who was the last Secretary General of Libya's General People's Congress and thus the country's nominal head of state from 2010[1] until 2011. He replaced Imbarek Shamekh as the GPC secretary general. He was reportedly a longtime personal friend of Muammar Gaddafi and credited with first introducing Gaddafi to Abdessalam Jalloud, who was Libya's Prime Minister of Libya in the 1970s.[2] As of 8 September 2011, he was in custody of the NTC forces.[3]

In June 2013, Zwai was acquitted of wasting public money but remained incarcerated.[4] In July 2015, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released in 2016 based on health grounds.

In April 2017, Zwai was appointed advisor for Maghreb Affairs by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh Issa.

In May 2018, Zwai was among the high-profile Gaddafi loyalists who declared their support for Khalifa Haftar at a forum in Benghazi.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Friend of Gaddafi named to head Libyan parliament. afran.ir. 27 January 2010. 1 January 2021.
  2. Web site: 2017-04-03 . Former Gaddafi official given senior position in Libyan eastern ruling body . 2023-06-15 . Middle East Monitor . en-GB.
  3. [Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]
  4. News: 2013-06-17 . Gaddafi officials acquitted but stay behind bars . en . Reuters . 2023-06-15.
  5. Web site: 2018-05-15 . Libya has its first electoral alliance between Haftar and Gaddafi loyalists . 2023-01-26 . Middle East Monitor . en-GB.