Safia Farkash

Safia Farkash
Born

1952 (age 6364)


Disputed

Other names Safia Farkash el-Brasai
Occupation Businesswoman
Spouse(s) Muammar Gaddafi (m. 1970–2011)

Safia Farkash (born 1952) is the widow of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and mother of seven of his eight biological children.

Early life

There are two different stories about her origin. One is that Farkash is from a family from the Eastern Libyan Barasa tribe and that she was born in Bayda and was trained as a nurse.[1]

The other story is that Farkash was born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina as "Zsófia Farkas"[2][3][4] and has a Bosnian Croat[5] and Hungarian origin.[2][6]

Personal life

She met Gaddafi when he was hospitalised and treated for appendicitis in 1970.[7] She became his second wife when they married in Tripoli during the same year.[8][9][10]

Farkash has seven biological children with Gaddafi and two adopted children:

She and Gaddafi are rumored to have adopted two children, Hanna and Milad.[22][23]

The family's main residence was in the Bab al-Azizia military barracks, located in the southern suburbs of Tripoli.

Business and other interests

Farkash kept a low profile during the initial period of her marriage to Gaddafi; however, after the release on license of Lockerbie bomber Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi in 2009, she took a more public profile. She organised a party covered by the local media to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 revolution that brought her husband to power, and in 2010 attended the graduation of female police students.[1]

In 2008, Farkash was elected vice president to the African First Ladies Organization in a meeting of African Union leaders in Sharm al-Sheikh, even though she was not present at the meeting, and has never taken part in activities related to it.[1]

Farkash owns airline Buraq Air, headquartered at Mittiga International Airport. Operated with the approval of her husband, even though it is a rival of the Libyan national carrier, it monopolizes the transfer of Libyan Hajj pilgrims to Mecca.[1]

It has been estimated that Farkash has an independent wealth of US$30Bn, which includes 20 tons of gold.[1]

Libyan civil war

Main article: 2011 Libyan civil war

Farkash stayed with her husband and family through the Libyan Civil War, at their home in Tripoli. After a first round of United Nations sanctions froze the overseas assets of Libya and those personally held by Gaddafi, the governments of France and the United Kingdom enabled a second round of sanctions, which froze an estimated £18Bn of state and personal assets control by Farkash.[30] In May 2011, she gave her first press interview to CNN reporter Nima Elbagir, via mobile telephone.[31]

As the Battle for Tripoli reached a climax in mid-August, the family were forced to abandon their fortified compound. On 27 August 2011, it was reported by the Egyptian news agency Mena that Libyan rebel fighters had seen six armoured Mercedes-Benz sedans, possibly carrying top Gaddafi regime figures, cross the border at the south-western Libyan town of Ghadames towards Algeria,[32] which at the time was denied by the Algerian authorities. On 29 August, the Algerian government officially announced that Safia together with daughter Ayesha and sons Muhammad and Hannibal, had crossed into Algeria early on 29 August.[32][33] An Algerian Foreign Ministry official said all the people in the convoy were now in Algiers, and that none of them had been named in warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for possible war crimes charges. Mourad Benmehidi, the Algerian permanent representative to the United Nations, later confirmed the details of the statement. The family had arrived at a Sahara desert entry point, in a Mercedes and a bus at 8:45 a.m. local time. The exact number of people in the party was unconfirmed, but there were "many children" and they did not include Gaddafi. Resultantly the group was allowed in on humanitarian grounds, and the Algerian government had since informed the head of the Libyan National Transitional Council, who had made no official request for their return.[34] In October 2012 they left a hideaway in Algeria to go to Oman, where they were granted political asylum.[35]

Sanctions after Gaddafi

The central bank of the United Arab Emirates ordered in March 2012 all banks and financial institutions in the country to freeze the accounts of Safia Farkash and other high-ranking officials of the Gaddafi regime.[36] This order was declared in accordance with the UN Security Council’s Resolution No. 1970 of 2011, addressing fifteen Libyans whose bank accounts had been frozen for their involvement in violence against the people of Libya.[36] In April 2016, she was allowed to return to her home in Bayda by the government as part of their efforts to pacify Gadaffi loyalists.[37]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Libya's first lady owns 20 tons of gold". Al Arabiya. 6 March 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Budepest Report – Gaddafi's wife revealed to be Hungarian". Budapest Report. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. "Word View from Off the Strip – Gaddafi's wife Safiya". Word View from Off the Strip. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  4. "Aus Zsófia Farkas wurdeSafiya al-Barassi al-Gaddafi". Journal. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  5. "Gaddafi Could Seek Refuge in Croatia or Serbia? Not Likely". Isa Intel. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  6. "Farkas", meaning "wolf", is a common Hungarian family name. "Brassai" is another common Hungarian family name, meaning "someone from Brassó"
  7. United Nations - SC/10541
  8. 1 2 Charkow, Ryab (22 February 2011). "Moammar Gadhafi and his family". CBC News. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  9. "Mandela hails South Africa election results". CNN. 6 June 1999. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  10. OMG: Gaddafi's Wife is Hungarian! - Pestiside.hu
  11. "Libya'S Gaddaffi Angry with His Son for Admitting Torture Of Bulgarian Nurses". The Sofia Echo. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  12. Waxman, Sharon (21 August 2011). "Saadi Gadhafi, Hollywood Investor and Dictator's Son, Arrested". Reuters. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  13. Ryan, Missy (23 August 2011). "Gaddafi son Saif at Tripoli hotel after arrest report". Reuters. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  14. "Gaddafi's son 'ready to surrender'". Al Jazeera English. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  15. Libya 20 October 2011|Al Jazeera Blogs
  16. "INTERPOL issues global alert following threat identified in UN sanctions resolution targeting Libya's Colonel Al-Qadhafi and others" (PDF). Interpol. 4 March 2011. p. 3. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  17. Bremner, Charles (4 February 2005). "Hannibal gives Gaddafi a bad name". The Times. London. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  18. Tages-Anzeiger, 17 August 2009; The Australian, 17 August 2009.
  19. Elizabeth Flock (30 August 2011). "Aisha Gaddafi gives birth to baby girl hours after fleeing to Algeria". Washington Post blogs. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  20. "Qaddafi Is Said to Survive NATO Airstrike That Kills Son" The New York Times 30 April 2011
  21. "Gaddafi son Khamis, spy chief believed dead: rebels". Reuters. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  22. "Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi v. The Daily Telegraph". 21 August 2002. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
  23. The Gaddafi family tree, BBC News, 21 February 2011
  24. name spelling per English language class certificate shown in reference
  25. See Accuracy in Media article here
  26. Wong, Curtis (9 August 2011). "Hana Gaddafi, Libyan Leader's Presumed Dead Daughter, May Be Still Alive: Reports". Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  27. "Dental records for Hana Gaddafi reopen mystery of Libyan leader's daughter". Feb17.info. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  28. Anthony Shadid (27 August 2011). "Enigmatic in Power, Qaddafi Is Elusive at Large". The New York Times.
  29. "Dental Records for Hanna Gaddafi reopen mystery of Muammar Gaddafi's daughter". London: Daily Telegraph. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  30. "Britain seeks UN help to target Gaddafi wife's £18bn". This Is London. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  31. CNN: First Interview with Gaddafi's Wife Safia |
  32. 1 2 Harding, Luke; Chulov, Martin; Stephen, Chris (29 August 2011). "Gaddafi's family escape Libya net to cross into Algeria". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  33. "Libya conflict: Gaddafi family 'flee to Algeria'". BBC News. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  34. Fahim, Kareem; MacFarquhar, Neil (29 August 2011). "Qaddafi's Wife and 3 of His Children Flee to Algeria". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  35. "Muammar Gaddafi's family take refuge in Oman". The Telegraph. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  36. 1 2 Haider, Haseeb (9 March 2012). "UAE freezes bank accounts of Gaddafi's wife, aide". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  37. Freeman, Colin (13 October 2016). "Gaddafi's widow allowed back to Libya as part of 'reconciliation' drive". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
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