- The slain Libyan dictator and leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had eight biological children and two adopted children
- Almost all of Muammar Gaddafi’s children were in his inner circle and all fled to different countries during the Libyan Civil War
- One of the children, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi has reportedly announced his intention of running for the office of the Libyan presidency
Of the ten children of Libyan revolutionary and political theorist, Muammar Gaddafi, three of them were killed during the revolution by the rebels so the others that survived stayed in different countries at that time.
Muammar Gaddafi’s oldest child was born during his first marriage with Fatiha-al-Nuri while seven were born when he married his second wife, Safia Farkash. The remaining two were adopted. In all, the slain Libya dictator had eight sons and two daughters. Some of his children include Muhammad Gaddafi, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, Al-Saadi Gaddafi, and Milad Gaddafi.
Muammar Gaddafi’s children are reportedly known for their extravagance, violence, and dysfunctional behavior.
Muammar Gaddafi’s Children Were Born During His First and Second Marriages
Muammar Gaddafi, the de facto leader of Libya from 1969 to 2011 has been described as family-oriented even though he has been regarded as a bizarre, irrational, and pious Muslim. Despite that, he has been described as a womanizer. There are reports about him making sexual advances towards female reporters and members of his entourage in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1969, Gaddafi married his first wife Fatiha Al-Nuri. She was a school teacher and also the daughter of General Khalid who was a senior figure in King Idris’s administration.
Before the marriage ended after six months, they had a son Muhammad Gaddafi in 1970 the same year their marriage ended.
Before he divorced Fatiha in 1970, he met Safia Farkash in 1969 after he was hospitalized with appendicitis. She was his wife until his death on 20th October 2011. Gaddafi and his wife had seven children. They also adopted a son and a daughter during their marriage.
Here Is All You Know to Know About Muammar Gaddafi’s 10 Children
1. Muhammad Gaddafi
Muhammad Gaddafi is the eldest son of the late Libyan dictator. He was born to Gaddafi and his first wife Fatiha. Born on March 15 1970, he was regarded as the possible successor as ruler of Libya by his father but he was reportedly not interested in the position.
Muhammad Gaddafi was the chairman of the General Posts and Telecommunications company that owned and operated cell phone and satellite services in Libya. The company was reportedly the exclusive internet provider in Libya so at the beginning of the protests against the Gaddafi government in 2011. The protest later led to the Libyan Civil War. The company allegedly cut internet links between Libya and the rest of the world during the Libyan Civil War. He was also the head of the Libyan Olympic committee during his father’s reign.
During the unrest, Muhammad surrendered to the rebel forces of the national transitional council on 21 August 2011 but later on with the help of Gaddafi’s loyalists, he escaped the rebels and later on was reported to be in Algeria alongside other members of his family. Together with his family, Muhammad left Algeria for Oman where they were granted political asylum.
2. Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi
During his father’s reign, Saif Al-Islam was regarded as the second most widely recognized person in Libya and sometimes the de facto prime minister. It was reported that Saif was considered a possible successor of Gaddafi but he rejected it. He also turned down his father’s offer to become the second-highest post in the country and did not hold any official government position.
On 27 June 2011, an arrest warrant was issued for Saif by the International Criminal Court for charges of crimes against humanity against the Libyan people but he denied the charges.
The graduate of engineering science was the president of the Libyan National Association for Drugs and Narcotics before he later founded his own charity organization named the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations. He was also instrumental in negotiations that led to Libya’s abandoning weapons of mass destruction programme in 2002-2003.
During his father’s reign, Saif reportedly criticized the regime and many regarded him as a reformer. During the Libyan war, he was reportedly the only member of his family that was left in the country after his father passed. He was later captured on 19 November 2011 as he was trying to flee Libya.
While he was in detention in May 2017, Saif narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Zintan by local militias. A few months later, he was released from prison but later on, in May 2018, the ICC issued another arrest warrant against Saif.
While he was still having problems with the authorities, he stated on 22 March 2018 that he would run for president in the next Libyan general election. However, he made this announcement while he was still in hiding.
On November 14 2021 Sauf made his first public appearance since 2014 where he affirmed his intentions to run for president. The London School of Economics graduate was rumored to be married but he, however, refuted the claims during an interview.
3. Al-Saadi Gaddafi
Al-Saadi Gaddafi 51 year-old captained the Libyan national team before he retired as a professional football player. He is also the former president of the Libyan Football Federation.
According to reports, his participation in football was arranged in his favor. During Gaddafi’s reign, the law forbade announcing the name of any football player except that of Al-Saadi Gaddafi. Only the numbers of the other players were announced. He was also favored by the referees.
As a businessman, the former footballer and the Jamahiriya government launched a project to create a semi-autonomous city similar to Hong Kong in Libya between Tripoli and the Tunisian border.
Before the government of his father was overthrown, he had an interest in the oil refining and marketing company that was owned by the Libyan government. After he retired from football, he reportedly became involved in the film industry.
In July 2010, Al-Saadi was ordered by the Italian court to pay €392,000 to a Ligurian hotel for an unpaid bill that dated back to the summer of 2007.
He is married to the daughter of a Libyan military commander al-Khweildi al-Hmeidi. however, he was assumed to be bisexual before his marriage.
During the Libyan Civil War, he was granted asylum in Niger on humanitarian grounds. Niger refused to grant Libyan the right to extradite him. but on 5 March 2014, it was announced that he was extradited by Niger to Tripoli.
In May 2015 Al-Saadi appeared in a Tripoli court and was formally charged with unlawful imprisonment ad murder for the 2005 killing of football player Bashir al-Riani. on 3 April 2018, he was cleared from the charge but was fined 500 Libyan dinars and was suspended one-year prison term for drinking and possessing alcohol.
On September 5, 2021, he was reportedly released from the Al–Hadaba prison.
4. Ayesha Gaddafi
View this post on Instagram
Ayesha is the one biological daughter of the former Libyan leader and his second wife. She is a former mediator and military official as well as a former UN Goodwill Ambassador. The lawyer married her father’s cousin Ahmed al-Quaddafi al-Qahsi in 2006. Her husband was an army officer at that time. However, he was killed together with their child in the July 26 bombing of Gaddafi’s family compound in 2011.
She studied law at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne Paris before she was later trained with the Libyan military reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The mother of four supported the Iraqi insurgents in 2010 and in 2011. She reportedly joined the defense team of the executed former leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussien.
She denounced the policies of the U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S President Barack Obama. She later served as a mediator on behalf of the government with the European Union corporations.
On 26 February 2011, she was placed under a travel ban and when NATO bombed one of her father’s buildings, she sued them for killing her infant child and brother.
Together with her mother, she was granted refuge in Algeria with her mother and brother during the Libyan civil war. Three days after she arrived in Algeria, she reportedly gave birth to a baby girl whom she named Safiya after her mother.
5. Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi
The sixth son of the slain Libyan leader, Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi spent most of his time in Munich. At the age of four, Saif was wounded in the U.S bombing attack of 1986.
On April 30, 2011, Saif and three of his nephews were allegedly killed by a NATO airstrike on his house during the Libyan Civil War. Of all Gaddafi’s children, he was the only one that had a low profile and spent most of his time in Germany.
6. Khamis Gaddafi
Gaddafi’s seventh son and the former military commander in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan Army died at the age of 28 on 29 August 2011. He was reportedly part of his father’s inner circle and during the civil war, he was a major target for the rebels.
Before he died, he earned a bachelor’s degree in military arts and science, and later he started a master’s degree program at the IE Business School in Madrid before he was expelled by the institution in March 2011. Prior to the civil war, he worked as an intern at AECOM Technology Corporation.
There have been a series of contradicting reports regarding when the place Khamis died and how he died.
7. Hana Gaddafi
According to reports, Colonel Gaddafi claimed his adopted daughter, Hana was killed in a US airstrike in 1986 when she was barely 18 months. However, during the civil war, it was rumored that Hana might still be alive.
However, the Libyan government spokesman argued that Gaddafi had adopted a second daughter and named her Hana in honor of the first one who had been allegedly killed in the 1986 raid.
The media reported that Hana has become a qualified doctor and worked at the Tripoli Medical Centre for a couple of years before the revolution. She was also rumored to have fled to Algeria with her mother and siblings in September 2011.
8. Milad Gaddafi
Not much has been revealed about Milad, who was initially Gaddafi’s nephew before he was adopted. He has been credited for saving Gaddafi’s life during a U.S. bomb attack.
9. Muttassim Gaddafi
Muttassim Gaddafi was the National Security Advisor of Libya and was also a member of Gaddafi’s inner circle. He was reportedly killed by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Battle of Sirte and was killed alongside his father.
Before he was killed, he was allegedly in a relationship with a model called Vanessa Hessler who continued to defend him even after his death.
Read Also: Muammar Gaddafi Wife: Who Are They And Where Are They Today?
10. Hannibal Gaddafi
The fifth son of Gaddafi and Safia was Hannibal. He was born on 20 August 1976. He was the first consultant to the management committee of the General National Maritime Transport Company of Libya.
The trained seaman was married to Aline Skaf and they shared three children. One of his children, Carthage Hannibal was killed in the bombing raid on 30 April 2011.
In 2008, together with his wife, Hannibal was arrested for mistreating two maids in Geneva and that led to a diplomatic crisis between Libya and Switzerland. He was also accused of beating his wife in a hotel in Switzerland when she was pregnant. According to reports, he beat her up until she fainted and was taken to the hospital. He was arrested afterward.
During the Libyan Civil War, he and members of his family fled to Algeria and later Oman. After the civil war, Hannibal was kidnapped and held in Lebanon but he was later released.
The Lebanese government later declared him wanted for withholding information regarding the disappearance of a Shiite Imam, Musa al-Sadr. The Imam’s family filed a lawsuit against Hannibal and he was held in custody in Lebanon.
While he is reportedly still in detention, his wife and children live in the Syrian capital Damascus and in January 2021, his wife was suspected of running her car into Police and pedestrians in Damascus.
Where Are All Muammar Gaddafi Children Now?
After the Libyan civil war, the fate of the slain leader’s family was unknown. Most of his family members fled to different countries. Most of the children and family members were indicted for one thing or the other. Oman reportedly offered refuge to close relatives of Gaddafi.
Ayesha Gaddafi was reportedly in the news on April 21, 2021 that the European court removed her name from the list of those subject to sanctions in 2011. She reportedly lives in the Sultanate of Oman but it has not been confirmed if her mother is still there as well.
Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi on the other hand seems to be in the news since he reemerged with his political ambitions.
Discussion about this post