Farhat Bengdara
Farhat Omar Bengdara | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 27, 1965 Benghazi, Libya |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, political figure |
| Known for | Chairman of the National Oil Corporation; Governor of the Central Bank of Libya |
Farhat Omar Bengdara (, born on 27 September 1965 in Benghazi) is a prominent Libyan banker and political figure, recognized for his leadership as Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) and his previous tenure as governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL). During the 2011 Libyan Civil War, he defected to the opposition against Gaddafi, departing Libya for Turkey on 21 February 2011, although he officially held his position until 6 March.
Bengdara postponed his resignation from the CBL until after the implementation of UN sanctions, which froze approximately 96% of Libya’s overseas assets, severely restricting the regime's financial resources. Subsequently, he backed the National Transitional Council (NTC) by ensuring banking operations continued in liberated regions and by building international connections to facilitate post-conflict central banking activities.
After the United States acknowledged the NTC on 16 July 2011, Bengdara acted as a representative for a coalition of Libyan bankers dedicated to gathering information on Libya's foreign assets and strategizing the reorganization of the banking sector under NTC governance.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Garyounis University and a Master’s degree specializing in Money, Banking, and Finance from Sheffield University. His professional background includes serving as Deputy Governor of CBL, Chairman and General Manager at the Public Furniture Company (Libya), Deputy Chairman of Wahda Bank, Director at Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) since 2001, Deputy Chairman of ABC Egypt, Chairman of ABC International Bank plc (London), board member of the Libyan Investment Corporation, and vice-chairman of UniCredit SpA beginning in 2009.
On 13 July 2022, Bengdara was named head of the National Petroleum Company by the Tripoli administration. He stepped down from this role on 16 January 2025.
External links
- How Khalifa Haftar and Abdelhamid Dabaiba sacrificed NOC boss, Africa Intelligence, 24 January 2025 (requires free registration)