1. Khweldi Hameidi's father owned a farm between Surman and Sabratha.
18 Facts About Khweldi Hameidi
1. 2.
Khweldi Hameidi attended primary school in Surman, secondary school in Zawiya, and graduated from the Benghazi Military University Academy as a second lieutenant in 1965.
3.
Khweldi Hameidi was appointed assistant commander of the 1st Idris Battalion in Sabha and later Tarhuna.
4.
Khweldi Hameidi's wife was a history professor and earned a master's degree from the Al-Fateh University in Tripoli.
5.
Khweldi Hameidi was an avid collector of arts, including Chinese porcelain and African ebony sculptures.
6.
Khweldi Hameidi had a passion for raising animals, such as falconry, Arabian horses, deer, and songbirds.
7.
Khweldi Hameidi played a leading role in the 1969 Libyan coup d'etat that overthrew King Idris and brought Muammar Gaddafi to power.
8.
Khweldi Hameidi was specifically tasked with seizing the radio station in Tripoli and arresting the crown prince Hasan as-Senussi.
9.
Khweldi Hameidi served as interior minister, chief of military intelligence, and head of the military courts in the Gaddafi government.
10.
Khweldi Hameidi was a member of General Provisional Committee for Defense.
11.
Khweldi Hameidi did continue to enjoy close personal relationship with Gaddafi due to his daughter's marriage to Gaddafi's son Saadi.
12.
Khweldi Hameidi reportedly received a field command in Zawiya during the civil war.
13.
Khweldi Hameidi's home, located near Surman, was bombed by NATO on 19 June 2011, which resulted in the death of his daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.
14.
On 24 June 2011, an impassioned Khweldi Hameidi spoke to Western journalists next to his demolished house with Moussa Ibrahim serving as the translator.
15.
Khweldi Hameidi never stood trial in Tunisia and was not deported to Libya.
16.
Khweldi Hameidi reportedly spent time in Morocco before settling in Egypt.
17.
In February 2012, the Libyan Popular National Movement was founded by Gaddafi loyalists in exile and Khweldi Hameidi served as its first Secretary General.
18.
Khweldi Hameidi suffered another heart attack and died in Cairo on 27 July 2015.