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Mohammed Najm

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Not to be confused with Mohamed Ag Najem.
Mohammed Najm
Najm in 1971
Born1943
Benghazi, Cyrenaica, Italian Libya
DiedDecember 13, 2016(2016-12-13) (aged 72–73)
Tunis, Tunisia
NationalityLibyan
EducationBenghazi Military University Academy
Occupation(s)Major, diplomat, and judge
Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
October 16, 1970 – February 1972
Preceded bySalah Busir
Succeeded byMansour Rashid El-Kikhia

Mohammed Emhamed Awad Najm (1943 – 13 December 2016; also transliterated as Muhammad Nejm) was a Libyan military officer and political figure.[1][2] He was one of the original twelve members of the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) and also served as the Libyan Foreign Minister.[3]

Biography

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Born and raised in Benghazi, Najm graduated from the Benghazi Military University Academy in 1963, where he met Muammar Gaddafi.[2] He was a leading figure in the 1969 Libyan coup d'état that overthrew King Idris and brought Gaddafi to power.[4] In addition to being part of the RCC, he also served as chairman of the court in the trial of former Minister of Defense, Lieutenant Colonel Adam al‐Hawaz, and former Minister of Interior, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Moussa, who was accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the RCC, in April 1970.[5]

Najm served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Unity from October 1970 to February 1972.[6] He then played a leading role in Gaddafi's Cultural Revolution, partaking in activities such as leading a "People's Committee" of youth to seize a radio station in Tripoli.[7] He quit the RCC in 1973 due to Gaddafi favoring members of his own tribe, the Qadhadhfa, for promotions.[8] He was not implicated in Umar Muhayshi's attempted coup against Gaddafi in August 1975.[9]

After a series of disagreements with Gaddafi, Najm withdrew from politics in the late 1970s and lived as an ordinary citizen in his hometown of Benghazi.[2] In May 2002, he was involved in a car accident and fractured one of his spine vertebrae. He subsequently spent a long time undergoing treatment and rehabilitation in Switzerland.[10] During the First Libyan Civil War in July 2011, it was reported that Najm had defected to the National Transitional Council.[11]

Najm went to Tunisia for medical treatment in late 2016 and died in a hospital in Tunis on 13 December 2016.[4][10]

References

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  1. ^ "الرائد محمد نجم فى ذمة الله". libya-al-mostakbal.org. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  2. ^ a b c "محمد نجم: اْطياف الرحيل والتاريخ". libya-al-mostakbal.org. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  3. ^ "Libya Names 12 Members Of Revolutionary Counci". The New York Times. 1970-01-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  4. ^ a b "وفاة الرائد محمد نجم عضو "مجلس قيادة الثورة" بالنظام السابق". قناة 218 (in Arabic). 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  5. ^ Anderson, Raymond H. (1970-04-11). "New Libyan Regime's Goals Still Unclear". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  6. ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–5, Part 2, Documents on North Africa, 1969–1972 - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  7. ^ Times, Henry Tanner Special to The New York (1973-06-04). "Libya Extends Cultural Revolution to Broadcasting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  8. ^ Tunesi, Ibrahim Sadoun R. (June 2023). "Sultanism and Civil War in Libya". Middle East Policy. 30 (2): 146–165. doi:10.1111/mepo.12688. ISSN 1061-1924.
  9. ^ Ufheil-Somers, Amanda (1986-11-04). "Libya's Revolution Revisited". MERIP. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  10. ^ a b الوسط, بوابة. "وفاة الرائد محمد نجم عضو "مجلس قيادة الثورة" في نظام القذافي". Alwasat News (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  11. ^ Ashour, Omar. "What Will Libya Look Like After Qaddafi?". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
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