Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libya’s former leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, has reportedly been killed, Libyan media sources have said.

The reported death of the 53-year-old, long seen as the most prominent surviving member of the Gaddafi family, was announced on Tuesday by the head of his political team, according to the Libyan News Agency. No official confirmation has yet been issued by Libyan authorities.

His sister told Libyan television that the son of the late Libyan strongman died near the country’s border with Algeria, but did not disclose the cause of death. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear, with conflicting reports circulating in the local media.

As the son of Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya from 1969 until his overthrow and death in 2011, Saif al-Islam was widely regarded as the most influential figure associated with the former regime.

Born in 1972, he played a major role in Libya’s rapprochement with Western countries in the early 2000s, helping to project a softer image of his father’s government and leading negotiations that resulted in Libya abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.

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Despite holding no official government position, Gaddafi’s son exercised significant influence within the regime and was often portrayed as its reformist face.

After the fall of his father’s government, he was accused of playing a key role in the violent suppression of anti-government protests in 2011. He was later captured and held for nearly six years by a militia in the western city of Zintan.

The International Criminal Court sought his trial for crimes against humanity linked to the crackdown on protesters. In 2015, a Libyan court sentenced him to death in absentia.

Although frequently described as his father’s heir apparent, Saif al-Islam denied seeking to inherit power, insisting that leadership was “not a farm to inherit.”

In 2021, the son of the former Libyan leader announced his intention to contest the presidency, but the elections were later postponed indefinitely.