Mutassim Gaddafi, Libyan Army officer, fifth son of Muammar Gaddafi, died froma shot he was 34.

Mutassim Billah Gaddafi was a Libyan Army officer, and the National Security Advisor of Libya from 2008 until 2011.^[1] He was the fifth son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and a member of his father's inner circle.^[2][3][4][5] His mother was Safia Farkash. He was captured during the Battle of Sirte by anti-Gaddafi forces, and later killed along with his father.

(1977 – 20 October 2011)

Negotiations with the US

In April 2009, Mutassim Gaddafi met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the highest-level diplomatic exchange between the two countries since they resumed diplomatic relations several years earlier.^[6] For Gaddafi, it was a serious display of his new responsibilities as the National Security Advisor. He was considered a womanizer and described by Libyan officials as "not intellectually curious", who struggled to get him to read custom-made abstracts on current events and national security. He overreached his role as NSA in 2008 by requesting $1.2 billion from the National Oil Corporation to form his own special forces brigade.^[7]
Mutassim Gaddafi met with U.S. Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman in 2009, expressing a strong need for military support in Libya. Gaddafi warned, "There are 60 million Algerians to the West, 80 million Egyptians to the East, we have Europe in front of us, and we face Sub-Saharan Africa with its problems to the South." He was concerned about upgrading Libya's military equipment, and said he could purchase arms from Russia and China, but wanted to buy materiel from the United States.^[8]

Possible successor

Gaddafi lived in Egypt for several years after allegedly attempting to take control of Libya from his father. His return led to a reconciliation with his father and a high-ranking position as National Security Advisor of Libya. In 2009, a story linking Mutassim Gaddafi to the death of Ibn Al Sheikh Al Libi was published in Libyan newspaper Oea with permission from his brother Saif al-Islam.^[1]

Role in the Libyan civil war

During the Libyan civil war, Gaddafi commanded the units in the Brega region notably during the Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road and the skirmishes in the area. He had been subject to a travel ban and an asset freeze over his close links and membership of his father's inner circle.^[9]
Gaddafi was allegedly in Tripoli in the Bab al-Azizia compound, and assisting in commanding what remained of pro-Gaddafi forces in the city during the Battle of Tripoli. However, no evidence of his presence was found by rebels when they captured the compound, nor was there evidence of a presence of any of his sons.
He commanded the loyalist forces in their unsuccessful defense of Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi's hometown,^[10] until the city fell.

Death

Mutassim Gaddafi was captured when Sirte fell on 20 October 2011. NTC commanders at the front in Sirte and officials in Tripoli claimed that he was captured as he was trying to leave the city in a family car, and sent off to Benghazi.^[11]
Film and photographs of Mutassim Gaddafi alive after being captured has been published.^[12][13] Later photographs released by Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya show Mutassim Gaddafi bearded and lying dead on a hospital bed, with a gaping wound in his throat.^[14][15]


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