Libya Picks Professor in Exile as New Interim PM

Newly elected Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib, left, is congratulated by National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdel-Jalil on Monday in Tripoli. Photo by CNN

Abdurrahim El-Keib, an electrical engineering professor and longtime exile, has been picked by Libya's Transitional National Council (TNC) as the country's interim Prime Minister.

El-Keib was elected Monday with the votes of 26 out of the total of 51 TNC members on Monday. The electrical engineer who has a dual Libyan-US citizenship was chosen among 10 candidates.

"This is a new Libya," El-Keib told reporters, as cited by CNN. "It has been 42 years with our friends and people all around the world dealing with a brutal dictator, so concerns are in order, but I want to tell you there should be none of those.

"We expect the world to understand that we have national interests as well, and we expect them to respect this," he added. "In fact, we demand respect of our national rights and national interests. In return, we promise respect and dealing according to international law."

El-Keib earned his PhD at North Carolina State University in 1984 and was a longtime professor at the University of Alabama. He joined the interim council last spring.

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