Abdullah al-Thani

Abdullah al-Thani (Arabic: عبد الله الثني‎  Libyan pronunciation: [ʕæbˈdɑllɑ tˈtini, -ˈθæni]) is a Libyan politician who became prime minister of the House of Representatives of Libya on 11 March 2014, when he took over in an interim capacity after the dismissal of Ali Zeidan.[2] He was previously the defence minister in the government of Zeidan.[3]

Abdullah al-Thani
25th Prime Minister of Libya (House of Representatives)
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 March 2014* Acting: 11 March 2014 – 8 April 2014
President	Nouri Abusahmain Abu Bakr Baira (Acting) Aguila Saleh Issa
Preceded by	Ali Zeidan
Succeeded by	Fayez al-Sarraj (Government of National Accord, internationally recognised)
Personal details
Born	7 January 1954[1] Kano, British Nigeria
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	Benghazi Military University Academy
*Thani's premiership was disputed by Omar al-Hassi, Khalifa al-Ghawi and Fayez al-Sarraj.

He is not related to Qatar’s ruling House of Al Thani, despite a similar surname with members of the House.

Prime Minister

In April 2014, al-Thani negotiated the reopening of two out of four oil ports seized by rebels.[4] Also, after he threatened to resign, the Congress officially confirmed him as prime minister in a permanent capacity and vested him with greater powers to deal with Libya's problems.[2]

However, al-Thani submitted his resignation as prime minister of the interim government on 13 April 2014, although he was asked to stay on as a caretaker until the election of a successor.[5] Ahmed Maiteeq was eventually elected as the new prime minister, but Maiteeq's election was voided on 9 June and al-Thani was reinstated as caretaker.[6]

After the election of a House of Representatives to govern Libya, al-Thani attended the opening ceremony of the new parliament in Tobruk on 4 August 2014.[7] He and his cabinet again resigned on 29 August 2014,[8] citing a need to give the controversial new parliament a chance to choose a new, inclusive government[9] after Islamist lawmakers convened a new meeting of the General National Congress in Tripoli and declared al-Thani dismissed, although he defended the elected House of Representatives as "the only legitimate authority in the country".[10] The next week, however, the Tobruk-based lawmakers reappointed al-Thani as prime minister and tasked him with forming a "crisis government".[11]

With Libya sliding into civil war between the two rival governments, al-Thani ordered General Khalifa Haftar to "liberate" Tripoli in October 2014.[12] In March 2015, following the start of a military intervention in support of the internationally recognised government in Yemen, al-Thani compared the situation in his country to the situation in Yemen and said Libya would call on the Arab League to "restore legitimacy".[13]

On 26 May 2015 he survived an assassination attempt when gunmen fired on his convoy in Tobruk.[14]

Abdullah al-Thani offered to resign as Prime Minister on 11 August 2015, over a year into the Second Libyan Civil War, saying his "exit is the solution."[15]

Al-Thani and the House of Representatives promoted Haftar to the rank of Field Marshal in recognition for his leadership in the Operation Surprise Lightning, capturing the four key oil ports (Sidra, Ra's Lanuf, Brega and Zuwetina) in the Gulf of Sirte from the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) during the ongoing Libyan Civil War.[16]

Al-Thani offered the resignation of his government on 13 September 2020 in response to the 2020 Libyan protests.[17]

See also

• First Al-Thani Cabinet
• Second Al-Thani Cabinet

References

1. "الحكومة الليبية المؤقتة - وزارة الدفاع". pm.gov.ly. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
2. "Al-Thinni officially appointed PM, new government within a week". Libya Herald. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
3. "Libya Swears in New Defense Minister". Project on Middle East Democracy. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
4. "Libyan rebels agree to reopen two oil terminals after deal". BBC. 6 April 2014. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
5. Frizell, Sam (13 April 2014). "Libya PM Quits, Says He was Targeted in Armed Attack". Time. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
6. "Libya PM's election declared unconstitutional". Al Jazeera. 9 June 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
7. Abdallah, Kamel (7 August 2014). "Libyan parliament convenes". Al-Ahram Weekly. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
8. "Libya government resigns to allow new cabinet". Al Jazeera English. 29 August 2014. Archived from the original on 30 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
9. Libya Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni resigns Archived 14 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine BBC. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
10. "Libya government resigns after Islamists restart GNC". Deutsche Welle. 29 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
11. "Libya Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni re-appointed". ENCA. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
12. "Libya orders army to advance on capital". Al Arabiya. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
13. "Libya: premier, we will seek Arab intervention like Yemen". ANSAmed. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
14. Jomana Karadsheh and Michael Martinez (26 May 2015). "Libyan Prime Minister survives assassination attempt". CNN. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. "Tobruk's Parliament Promotes Khalifa Haftar To Field Marshal". Middle East Observer. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
17. "Libya's eastern-based government resigns amid protests". Al Jazeera English. 14 September 2020. Archived from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.