Huda Ben Amer
Encyclopedia
Huda Ben Amer is a former Libyan politician. A follower of the Libyan ruler, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
, she was the Secretary of the General People's Congress of Inspection People's Control and mayor of Benghazi
until the 2011 Libyan civil war
.
Ben Amer was born in Al Marg near Benghazi and attended the Garyounis University
in Benghazi. Belonging to a poor family without influence, Ben Amer rose to national prominence at a public execution staged by the Gaddafi government in 1984. The event in Benghazi's basketball stadium had been announced as the trial of one of Gaddafi's political enemies, al-Sadek Hamed Al-Shuwehdy, an engineer who had been peacefully campaigning against the colonel's rule. But instead the schoolchildren and students who had been assembled for the purpose were made to see al-Shuwehdy's execution by hanging
. While the hanged man writhed on the gallows, Ben Amer stepped forward and grabbed al-Shuwehdy's legs, pulling him down until he stopped struggling and died.
That display of ruthlessness, about which she later liked to boast—she is remembered in Benghazi by her saying "we don't need talking, we need hangings"—earned her the enduring loathing of the people of Benghazi and the nickname Huda Al-Shannaga—"Huda the Executioner". However, it impressed Gaddafi, who had been watching the execution on live TV. He subsequently promoted Ben Amer to high government posts, including twice mayor of Benghazi and a leading member of the Legan Thwria, Gaddafi's organization of revolutionary committees. Eventually she became a favorite of Gaddafi, and one of the richest and most powerful women in Libya.
In the course of the national uprising in early 2011, a crowd stormed Ben Amer's sprawling mansion in Benghazi and, finding her gone, burned it to the ground. Later in March 2011, she was seen next to Gaddafi on one of his televised addresses. On 2 September 2011, Guma el-Gamaty, the UK coordinator of the National Transitional Council
posted on Twitter that Ben Amer had been arrested in Tripoli by NTC forces.
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, she was the Secretary of the General People's Congress of Inspection People's Control and mayor of Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
until the 2011 Libyan civil war
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
.
Ben Amer was born in Al Marg near Benghazi and attended the Garyounis University
Garyounis University
University of Benghazi , formerly known as the Garyounis University, is a public university in Benghazi, Libya.- History :It is the oldest and first Libyan university. It was founded on 15 December 1955 as The Libyan University...
in Benghazi. Belonging to a poor family without influence, Ben Amer rose to national prominence at a public execution staged by the Gaddafi government in 1984. The event in Benghazi's basketball stadium had been announced as the trial of one of Gaddafi's political enemies, al-Sadek Hamed Al-Shuwehdy, an engineer who had been peacefully campaigning against the colonel's rule. But instead the schoolchildren and students who had been assembled for the purpose were made to see al-Shuwehdy's execution by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
. While the hanged man writhed on the gallows, Ben Amer stepped forward and grabbed al-Shuwehdy's legs, pulling him down until he stopped struggling and died.
That display of ruthlessness, about which she later liked to boast—she is remembered in Benghazi by her saying "we don't need talking, we need hangings"—earned her the enduring loathing of the people of Benghazi and the nickname Huda Al-Shannaga—"Huda the Executioner". However, it impressed Gaddafi, who had been watching the execution on live TV. He subsequently promoted Ben Amer to high government posts, including twice mayor of Benghazi and a leading member of the Legan Thwria, Gaddafi's organization of revolutionary committees. Eventually she became a favorite of Gaddafi, and one of the richest and most powerful women in Libya.
In the course of the national uprising in early 2011, a crowd stormed Ben Amer's sprawling mansion in Benghazi and, finding her gone, burned it to the ground. Later in March 2011, she was seen next to Gaddafi on one of his televised addresses. On 2 September 2011, Guma el-Gamaty, the UK coordinator of the National Transitional Council
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya , sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council,...
posted on Twitter that Ben Amer had been arrested in Tripoli by NTC forces.