Abdul Ati al-Obeidi

Abdul Ati al-Obeidi (/ˈɑːbdəl ˈɑːti ɑːl oʊˈbeɪdi/ ^ⓘ; Arabic: عبد العاطي العبيدي, romanized: ʿAbd al-ʿĀṭī al-ʿUbayyidī; 10 October 1939 – 16 September 2023) was a Libyan politician and diplomat. He held various top posts in Libya under Muammar Gaddafi; he was Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979 and General Secretary of General People's Congress from 1979 to 1981. He was one of three main negotiators in Libya's decision to denounce and drop their nuclear weapons program.

Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
عبد العاطي العبيدي
Obeidi in 2010
Prime Minister of Libya
In office 2 March 1977 – 2 March 1979
President	Muammar Gaddafi
Preceded by	Abdessalam Jalloud
Succeeded by	Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi
Secretary-General of the General People's Congress
In office 2 March 1979 – 7 January 1981
Leader	Muammar Gaddafi
Preceded by	Muammar Gaddafi
Succeeded by	Muhammad az-Zaruq Rajab
Foreign Minister of Libya
In office 1982–1984
Preceded by	Ali Treki
Succeeded by	Ali Treki
In office 6 April 2011 – 2011
Preceded by	Moussa Koussa
Succeeded by	Mahmoud Jibril
Personal details
Born	(1939-10-10)10 October 1939[1] Jabal al Akhdar, Italian Libya
Died	16 September 2023(2023-09-16) (aged 83) Tripoli, Libya

In 2011, amidst the First Libyan Civil War between Gaddafi loyalists and anti-Gaddafi rebels, he was appointed Foreign Minister after the defection of Moussa Koussa. In fact, he had accompanied Koussa to Djerba, Tunisia before returning to Libya while Koussa defected and went to London. On 3 April 2011 (a week after Koussa's defection), Obeidi flew to Greece to present a peace proposal to his counterpart Dimitrios Droutsas.^[2]

On 31 August 2011, he was detained west of Tripoli by rebel forces.^[3][4] In June 2013, a court found him not guilty of a charge of mismanagement.^[5][6]

Abdul Ati al-Obeidi died of a heart attack in Tripoli on 16 September 2023, at the age of 83.^[7]

Career

General Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister)

• 1 March 1977 to 1 March 1979

General Secretary of the General People's Congress (Head of State)

• 2 March 1979 to 7 January 1981

Other positions

• Minister for European Affairs
• Minister of Foreign Affairs: 1982 to 1984; 2011
• Deputy Foreign Minister
• Libyan Ambassador to Tunisia
• Libyan Ambassador to Italy

See also

• History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi
• Foreign relations of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi