Khalifa Belqasim Haftar (1943-) was a Field Marshal of the Libyan National Army and an important Libyan warlord during the 21st century. He was known for his spectacular military career, but also for fighting with and against almost every faction in Libya's struggles during and following the Libyan Civil War.
Biography[]
Khalifa Haftar was born in Ajdabiya, Libya in 1943, and he served in the Libyan National Army under Muammar Gaddafi; he took part in the 1969 coup which brought Gaddafi to power as the head of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. He fought in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and in the Libyan-Chadian War of 1987, and he was captured during the latter conflict, embarrassing Gaddafi and ruining his war plans. While held prisoner, he and other captured officers plotted to overthrow Gaddafi, and he was released in 1990 in a deal with the United States government. Haftar spent two decades living in Langley, Virginia, gaining US citizenship; in 1993, he was sentenced to death in absentia by the Libyan government. In 2011, Haftar held a senior position in the forces which overthrew Gaddafi, and, in 2014, he was in command of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress exceeded its terms in office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamist allies, and elections were held to replace the GNC, although the situation quickly deteriorated into a civil war.