Najla Mohammed El Mangoush (born 7 June 1973) is a Libyan diplomat and lawyer.[1] She was Libya's foreign minister in Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh's government from 15 March 2021[2] until her dismissal on 28 August 2023.[3] El Mangoush has been Libya's first and only female foreign minister,[4] and the fifth woman to hold the position of a foreign minister in the Arab World.
Early life and education
Najla El Mangoush was born in Cardiff, Wales, to a family of four children who originated from Libya, but she grew up in Benghazi, the city to which the family returned, when she was six years old.[5]
She has served as the Program Officer for Peace-building and Traditional Law at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution in Arlington, Virginia.[1]
In May 2021, she came under pressure to resign and been subjected to personal abuse after she called Turkey to comply with the UN resolutions and withdraw the Turkish troops and mercenaries from Libya.[6]
On 6 November 2021, the Presidential Council suspended Mangoush on charges of carrying out foreign policy without coordination with the council. She was also barred from traveling.[7]Prime MinisterAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh disputed[8][9] the right of the Presidential Council to suspend Mangoush, saying the power to appoint or suspend ministers in his government is his exclusive preserve.
After the announcement of a meeting between Mangoush and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Italy on 27 August 2023, she was suspended, and an investigation was opened against her.[10] On 28 August, she was dismissed from Dbeibeh's cabinet.[3] She fled Libya first to Turkey and later London, where her family resides, the same day out of fear for her safety amid a growing uproar in Tripoli over the issue.[11]
^Rausch, Colette (2015). Speaking Their Peace: Personal Stories from the Frontlines of War and Peace. Berkeley, California: Roaring Forties Press. ISBN978-1938901386.