Libya is about to enter a new political phase, especially after a year of failure under the reign of the Government of National Unity (GNU) headed by Abdel Hamid Dbaiba. The inability to hold the Presidential and Parliamentary elections as scheduled, has resulted in the formation of a new government headed by Fathi Bashagha, who was unanimously elected by the Libyan Parliament.
Bashagha was born in 1962 in the city of Misrata. He obtained a BA in atmospheric sciences, and in 1984 was appointed as a pilot at the Air College in Misrata. He worked as a pilot instructor, and submitted his resignation in 1993. He worked in the private sector, until the 2011 February 17 revolution.
The 59-year-old participated in the conflict, working as a coordinator for NATO.
In 2014, Bashagha was elected as a member of the Libyan Parliament, but boycotted the legislative sessions. He defected from it, after it was moved to the eastern city of Tobruk. He also was one of the supporters of the Fajr (Dawn) Libya operations.
In 2018, the former Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Prime Minister, Fayez Al-Sarraj appointed Bashagha as Interior Minister. During his tenure, the Libyan Audit Bureau indicted Bashagha on several charges of corruption.
Bashagha is also a major supporter of the security agreement signed between the GNA and Turkey. He played a major role in transferring large numbers of Syrian mercenaries to western Libya, to fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA).
The Prime Minister-designate also helped secure the deployment of Turkish forces in Libya
Recently, he submitted his application for the Presidential elections, in December 2021.