Ali Al-Qataani was born in al-Bayda in 1978. He graduated from the Zawiya Petrol Training Centre, then studied accounting at Ali Wareeth High Institute for Administration. He has worked in the oil industry since 1998. His freelance journalism career began with the Libyan revolution in February 2011. He now works for the weekly newspaper 'Al-Ain' and lives in Shahat, east of Benghazi