Shukri Ghanem

Infobox Prime Minister
name =Shukri Mohammed Ghanem
شكرى محمد غانم


order =Prime Minister of Libya
term_start =1 June 2003
term_end =1 March 2006
predecessor =Imbarek Shamekh
successor =Baghdadi Mahmudi
birth_date =1942

Shukri Mohammed Ghanem (Arabic: شكرى محمد غانم ) (born 1942) is the former General Secretary of the People's Committee in Libya (prime minister). He held this position from his appointment by Muammar al-Gaddafi in June 2003 until March 2006 when, in the first major government re-shuffle in over a decade, he was reported to have been sacked. His deputy, Baghdadi Mahmudi, took over as prime minister.

Background

With advanced degrees in International Economics and Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Ghanem was previously in charge of the OPEC secretariat, and was the Director of its Research Division. He served as Deputy Director and Director of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economy in Libya; was Director of Marketing of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC); was Director of Economic Affairs and Under Secretary and Chief Advisor at the Ministry of Petroleum in Libya. In March 2006, Ghanem was appointed Chairman of Libya's NOC.

Breaking the ice

Libya had been diplomatically isolated and subject to international sanctions since the November 1991 indictment of two Libyans for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988 (the Lockerbie bombing). Following Ghanem's appointment as prime minister, Libya successfully sought re-entry into the international community and the lifting of sanctions. Ghanem was seen as the main spokesman and architect of this rapprochement, which included paying $2.16 billion compensation in August 2003 to the families of the 270 people who died in the bombing, and renouncing weapons of mass destruction.

Controversy

In February 2004, however, Ghanem was interviewed on the BBC Radio 4 "Today" program. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/misc/libya_20040224.shtml] He stirred controversy in the interview by repudiating Libya's responsibility both for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the 1984 murder of British WPC Yvonne Fletcher (who was shot and killed in April 1984 outside the Libyan Embassy in London). This incident led to the severing of UK/Libya diplomatic relations.:"After the problems we [Libya] have been facing because of the sanctions, the loss of money, we thought that it was easier for us to buy peace and this is why we agreed a compensation," Ghanem said in the interview.When asked whether the payment of compensation meant that Libya did not accept any guilt or responsibility, Ghanem replied::"I agree with that, and this is why I say we bought peace."Under pressure from the US and Britain, Ghanem's comments were quickly retracted by Gaddafi.

It is unclear whether Shukri Ghanem's dismissal as prime minister in 2006 was a consequence of those controversial remarks he made two years earlier.

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ztuesday_20040224.shtml BBC Radio 4 "Today" program, February 24, 2004]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4777332.stm Libya's reforming premier sacked]