Muhammad Osman Said

Mohamed Othman Essed محمد عثمان الصيد
Prime Minister of Libya
In office 17 October 1960 – 19 March 1963
Monarch	Idris I
Preceded by	Abdul Majid Kubar
Succeeded by	Mohieddin Fikini
Personal details
Born	17 October 1924[1] Libya
Died	31 December 2007(2007-12-31) (aged 83)

Muhammad Osman Essed (or Assed) (17 October 1924^[2][1] – 31 December 2007) was a Libyan politician who held many positions in the era of the Kingdom of Libya including the Prime Minister of Libya from 17 October 1960 to 19 March 1963.^[3]

Essed was born on 17 October 1924 in the village of al-Zawiyah near Brak,^[4] in the Fezzan region. His father, Ahmad al-Badawi Essed, served as a religious judge and tribal mediator during a time when the region lacked formal state institutions. From a young age, Muhammad was immersed in Qur’anic education, memorizing the entire Qur’an by the age of thirteen.^[5] He studied classical Islamic sciences including jurisprudence, theology, logic, and Arabic grammar under the guidance of prominent local scholars, notably Sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Barkuli and Sidi al-Mukhtar al-Zawi .

In the mid-1940s, while Fezzan was under French military occupation, Mohamed Othman Essed co-founded a secret nationalist group in Brak with Sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Barkuli. The group’s goal was to prevent the political separation of Fezzan from the rest of Libya and to promote national unity through quiet mobilization and education of the local population.^[6]

In January 1946, Essed and al-Barkuli made a covert trip to Tripoli to meet nationalist leaders including Ahmad al-Fuqih al-Hasan and Mustafa Mizran, seeking coordination with broader movements in Tripolitania. They returned to Fezzan and expanded their outreach discreetly, avoiding confrontation with French authorities.^[7]

By April 1948, during the visit of the UN Four-Power Commission, Essed helped organize a large public gathering in Zawiyat al-Shaikh near Brak, where he and others publicly expressed support for Libyan independence. The event drew the attention of the French administration.

Shortly after, Essed was summoned by the French military governor in Brak, who accused him of stirring unrest. While not arrested at this stage, he was formally warned and placed under watch.^[8]

Essed married Lola Seif, who remained his partner throughout much of his political and later exile years. He had nine children, several of whom—including Saud, Khaled, and Abdussalam—were tragically assassinated in the early 1990s while the family lived in exile due to their outspoken opposition to Libya’s regime. Essed's wife passed away in October 2002, deeply affecting him in the final years of his life .

After the 1969 coup in Libya, Essed lived in exile in Morocco until his death on 31 December 2007—continuing to advocate for democratic reforms and Libyan self-determination. He declined invitations to return to Libya, stating he would only do so if free and fair elections were held.