Libya’s National Transitional Council elected Abdurrahim el-Keib, a former electrical engineering professor at the University of Alabama, as the country’s interim prime minister.
El-Keib was appointed to head the NTC’s executive council after gaining 26 out of 51 votes yesterday in the capital, Tripoli, Al Jazeera television reported. He takes over from Mahmoud Jibril, who resigned when Libya’s “liberation” was declared on Oct. 23, three days after the death of Muammar Qaddafi and the fall of his hometown of Sirte to forces loyal to the transitional administration.
“El-Keib presented his plan for the next eight months to the NTC, which includes working to restore order and stability, rebuilding cities destroyed by Qaddafi, rehabilitating the rebels and starting to collect their weapons,” Abdul Majid Saif Al-Nasr, an NTC member, told Al Jazeera.
Under plans outlined by the NTC in May, Libyans will choose a panel to oversee the writing of a new constitution within eight months. That will be followed by a referendum and presidential and legislative elections.
El-Keib “left everything” to join the NTC, formed shortly after Qaddafi put down anti-government protests that erupted in the eastern city of Benghazi in February, Salem Kenan, a member of the council, told Al Arabiya television. El-Keib, who is also a businessman, was born in Tripoli, Kenan said.
