Libyas General National Congress select New Prime Minister 14.10.

2012

Following the recent dismissal of Prime Minister elect Dr. Mustafa Aboushagur, Libyas General National Congress selected Ali Zidan as the countries new Prime Minister on Sunday 14th October 2012. Mr. Zidan will now have two weeks to submit his cabinet nominations.

With strong support from the National Forces Alliance (NFA), and many independent Congress members, Zidan narrowly beat the Muslim brotherhoods favoured candidate who is the current local Government Minister Mohamed Harari (who also had strong support from independents) by 93 votes to 85.

Zidan previously ran to be head of Congress in July losing out on that occasion to his old colleague Mohamed Magarief. During his time as a diplomat Zidan worked under Magarief in the Libyan embassy in India for two years during the late 1970s. Defecting from the Gaddafi regime in 1980, he joined Magarief in the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (a political association operating from overseas which actively opposed Gaddafis rule). Zidan, who studied Political Science and International Relations, left the NFSL to devote himself to the Libyan League for Human Rights an organisation founded in Geneva where he was a spokesman from 1989 to 2012.

Originally from the city of Wadan in Central Libya, Zidan who until recently has been living in Germany played a prominent role in the in the February 17th uprising in 2011. Acting as a representative for the National Transitional Council in Germany and Switzerland he played a role in galvanising international support for the Libyan opposition. It was he who organised a meeting for Mahmoud Jabril (who he met post Feb17 2011) and Ali Al Esawy with French President Nicholas Sarkozy, and he helped persuade the French government to provide supplies to rebels in Misurata and Jabal Al Akhdar.

Following the declaration of Libyas Liberation in October 2011 Zidan became a member of the National Party for Development & Welfare and went on to be elected as a member of the General National Congress in Augest as an independent member representing Jufra. He left the party and quit his position in Congress in order to run for the post of Prime Minister.

Zidan, who cited transitional justice and national reconciliation as top priorities, faces serious challenges in bringing the current security situation in Libya under control and avoiding an escalation in current hostilities including the situation in Bani Walid. The first step will be selecting a cabinet which will be accepted by Congress and able accept the mandate to take over from the NTCs interim government.

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