Lorenzo Siggillino, Junior Research Fellow at the CGSRS, seats down with Mustafa Rugibani, Head of the Libyan delegation to the Holy See to discuss the present situation of Libya, its progresses in the formation of a government of national unity and challenges in the face of terrorism intensification after the fall of Gaddafi.
Mustafa Rugibani is the Head of the Libyan delegation to the Holy See. He was born in Libya and formerly worked in business. In opposition to Muammar Gaddafi, he left Libya in 1979 and returned in 2006. He contributed to the 17th February 2011 protest organized by all opposition forces paired with exiled Libyans. After the revolution, he joined the National Transition Congress (NTC) and was appointed Minister of Labour in the first democratically elected Government after the Gaddafi era. Now he is committed to strengthening Libyan relations with the Vatican, while actively participating in cultural and religious dialogues. Mustafa Rugibani was nominated for the position of Prime Minister in the unity government Libya is trying to establish alongside the United Nations. The legislative authorities of both governments rejected the plan proposed by Bernardino Leon, head of the United Nations Mission in
Libya (UNSMIL) in autumn. As a consequence, the Spanish diplomat was replaced by Martin Kobler a few days after this interview was conducted. Recently, Tobruk and Tripoli have reached an agreement on the new plan for a unity government proposed by the UN, but the new document is pending ratification by legislative institutions.