Kawthar Zantour
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Over time, Al-Kabir has shown himself capable of rapid repositioning, adept crisis management, pragmatism, and opportunism. A bureaucrat who knows his own limits, he has learnt to identify where power lies and align himself to it.
These skills helped him survive a totalitarian regime. He allied himself with the second most powerful man in the country, Abdessalam Jalloud, a former Libyan prime minister who went to school with Gaddafi and helped him oust the monarchy.
Jalloud fell out with Gaddafi and was placed under house arrest for several years before finally managing to leave Libya for Italy in 2011. Abdel-Razzaq Al-Awadi was also al-Kabir’s childhood friend from the Belkheir neighbourhood of central Tripoli. They both got a scholarship to study in the United States during Gaddafi’s rule.
Al-Kabir’s appointment as central bank governor in 2011 is attributed to Al-Awadi who, like al-Kabir, was also a member of the National Transitional Council. Networking has continued to help al-Kabir. Last year, the Association of African Central Banks elected him Chairman of the North African Central Banks Group, which covers Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Sudan.
It also elected him Vice-President of the Association for 2024 and Chairman of the Board of Governors of African Central Banks for 2025.
Facing criticism
Al-Kabir is no stranger to barbs. His friendship with al-Awadi led to al-Kabir being seen as a Muslim Brotherhood sympathiser. More serious criticism came in 2016 from the (then) British Ambassador to Libya, Peter Millett.
The envoy told a UK parliamentary committee that the Central Bank of Libya was funding the country’s civil war by paying the salaries of militants. The bank vehemently denied this, and even Millett soon seemed to backtrack.
Al-Kabir’s critics accuse him of becoming too powerful, and of turning the central bank into a state within a state, using it to serve his own interests. His predecessor called al-Kabir’s central bank “a one-man show”.
Critics say that, during his tenure, Libya has lost billions, the dinar has depreciated and devalued, and Libyans have faced runaway inflation. Others make unsubstantiated claims that millions have been spent buying off militias.
Another criticism levelled at al-Kabir is that he has been more generous with help from the central bank for the spending plans of subservient governments.
A Libyan figure close to the country’s UN special envoy (who recently resigned) told Al Majalla “what al-Kabir is doing isn’t the best… he is a controversial figure and doesn’t enjoy the trust of all, but replacing him might open the door to the unknown amid new developments in the country.”
Working in insecurity
Those “new developments” include fears about the presence of heavily armed Russian fighters. This led to calls in Washington to counter Moscow’s growing influence in Libya.
The respected French newspaper Le Monde reported that sums of around $127mn have been earmarked, a sign that al-Kabir may be having an influence in the US capital.
He earned his MBA at Hartford in Connecticut, then spent time working in Tunisia, and lived in Britain for a period, before returning to Libya. A former Tunisian official who knows him well paints a familiar picture of his manner.
“He’s an introverted and cold personality, skilful in communication. He doesn’t chameleonise but can deal calmly with all situations and fluctuations, managing risks and crises. He is purely a banker.”
When directly confronted, al-Kabir responds calmly and with logic, talking through the legal and procedural situation. Libya’s central bank faces challenges that other central banks do not, the country’s many well-armed militias being one.
Amidst the very real threat of violence, he exhibits composure and courage. More than 50 bank officials have been kidnapped in recent years and al-Kabir has had a $25mn price tag put on his head.
Le Monde reported that the danger had grown sufficient enough for him to flee to Turkey in October 2023 fearing his safety, after a violent clash with the prime minister’s adviser and nephew, Ibrahim Dbeibeh.
Gone, the revolutionary
For all his quiet manner, al-Kabir is no stranger to violence. When the Gaddafi regime was on the wane, he was no backseat passenger.
Having resigned, he began reporting on events first-hand, as if he were a war correspondent, tracking the number of rebels among soldiers and officials, as well as the areas falling under their control. He was even referred to as a ‘military analyst’.
This helped show that he was part of the action, which in turn helped him work with the National Transitional Council. Still, his nomination to run the central bank was a surprise. Once in the job, he was quick to leave the revolutionary behind.
Instead, he rose above the day-to-day political clashes, embraced the neutrality required of bureaucracy and a central bank, and burnished its credentials as one of Libya’s most important sovereign institution.
But is he really objective? “Al-Kabir says he’s neutral and has no political ties, but he’s probably the only politician in Libya,” one diplomatic source told Al Majalla.
Politically adept to the point of being Machiavellian, for al-Kabir, the end always justifies the means. The trouble is, most dictators throughout history have thought the same.
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