Khalifa Haftar

Position: Military commander, Libya

Biography: General Khalifa Haftar is the most senior military commander in the armed forces of Libya’s internationally recognised government, as it battles against the powerful militia coalition known as Libya Dawn.

Libya Dawn supports a rival Islamist-led government that controls Tripoli and the surrounding regions, while the elected leadership is based in the eastern city of Tobruk. In 1969, Haftar took part in the coup that brought Muammar Gaddafi to power. He commanded Libyan forces in the country’s disastrous war with Chad in 1978, before turning against Gaddafi and fleeing to the US.

In early 2014, Haftar came out of retirement and began a military campaign against Libya’s Islamist militant groups. Although his campaign was unauthorised and initially condemned by the internationally backed government, the might of Haftar’s forces made him a valuable partner to the elected prime minister, Abdullah al-Thani, in the second half of 2014.