Osama Hammad

Osama Hammad
أسامة حماد
Prime Minister of Libya (Government of National Stability)
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 May 2023 Disputed byAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh
President	Mohamed al-Menfi
Preceded by	Fathi Bashagha
Personal details
Born	Osama Saad Hammad Salih al-Qabaili Ajdabiya,Libya
Signature

Osama Saad Hammad Saleh(Arabic:أسامة حماد;born 1979)is a Libyan politician. On 16 May 2023, he was appointed actingPrime Minister of Libyaby theHouse of Representatives.He took over fromFathi Bashaghaand was previously his Finance Minister.

Political career

Hammad worked in the Libyangovernmentin 2013 as head of the Atomic Energy Commission, which was part of his area of expertise, before taking over as chair of the Office of International Cooperation in the government, which at the time moved to the city ofBaydain eastern Libya after the previousNational Congress(the currentState Council) mandated a parallelgovernmentled byOmar al-Hassito take control of the capitalTripoli.During that period, Libyans did not know Osama Hammad yet, but he emerged when he returned again to Tripoli afterFayez al-Sarraj,headof theGovernment of National Accord,which came at the time through an agreement signed by the parties to theLibyan conflictinMoroccanSkhiratunderUNauspices on 17 December 2015, decided to assign himMinister of Finance.This was as of January 2016, which is the beginning of the work of the LibyanGovernment of National Accord,where Hammad worked alongside 17 other ministers who attended the first meeting of the then government on 2 January 2016 inTunis,Tunisia.

After a short period of time, a political dispute arose between theHouse of Representativesand thegovernment.In that dispute, Osama Hammad's position was clear, as he sided with the House of Representatives, which has the supreme legislative authority in the country. He also showed support for theLibyan National Armyled byKhalifa Haftar,which was the biggest opponent of thatgovernmentbecause of its support for the militias against the national army. That position of Minister Hammad causedFayez al-Sarrajto dismiss him in October 2018 and appoint Faraj Boumtari, who hails from the same city (Ajdabiya), in his place. At that time, Hammad received that decision with open arms, as he issued a statement in which he said, “The job is an assignment, not an honor, as I strived hard to provide something for the country and carry out reform.” At the end of his statement, he presented “an apology to the Libyan people for any shortcoming or failure, and that he wishes success and repayment to Faraj Boumtari, the new Minister of Finance.”

In February 2022, the House of Representatives assignedFathi Bashaghato form a newgovernmentinstead of thenational unity governmentheaded byAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh,who was exempted byParliamentand still clings to power. On 1 March 2022 the House of Representatives announced, during its official session, that it gave confidence to the government of Fathi Bashagha, by a majority of 92 votes out of 101 deputies who attended the session, while Osama Hammad was among the 33 names in the new government in the position of Minister of Planning and Finance.

Given the conflict between thegovernmentappointed by the House of Representatives and the outgoingDbeibehgovernment,Osama Hammad is one of the most prominent ministers defending the legitimacy of the newgovernment.

Hammad is also considered the number one enemy ofDbeibeh'sgovernment,especially since the latter has repeatedly made statements about financial malfeasance inBashagha'sgovernment.He also previously filed complaints with Libya's attorney general about financial corruption inDbeibeh'sgovernment,most recently two months ago when thegovernmentinTripoliallegedly prevented budgetary funds from being allocated to children with cancer inBenghazi,nine of whom died as a result of delayed treatment inJordan.

Hammad himself was supervising the plan to rebuild the city ofBenghazi,which was destroyed due to thewarwaged by theLibyan National Armyagainst extremist organizations in the city years ago.

The House of Representatives decided on 16 May 2023 to assign Finance Minister Osama Hammad to carry out the duties ofprime minister,instead ofFathi Bashagha,after about 15 months in office. According to analysts, the assignment came after the deputies criticized Bashagha's performance over the past period in all fields and made unfulfilled promises, in addition to several projects that were not completed during the specified period.

DuringStorm Daniel,he led the response in eastern Libya through the crisis.

See also

• List of heads of government of Libya