Abdurrahim El-Keib

Abdurrahim Abdulhafiz El-Keib,[1][2] PhD, (Arabic: عبد الرحيم عبد الحفيظ الكيب‎; also transcribed Abdel Rahim AlKeeb, Abdul Raheem Al-Keeb, etc.;[3] 2 March 1950 – 21 April 2020) was a Libyan politician, professor of electrical engineering, and entrepreneur[4] who served as interim Prime Minister of Libya from 24 November 2011 to 14 November 2012. He was appointed to the position by the country's National Transitional Council[5] on the understanding that he would be replaced when the General National Congress was elected and took power. Power was handed to the Congress on 8 August 2012, and the assembly appointed El-Keib's successor Ali Zeidan in October 2012.[6]

Abdurrahim El-Keib
عبد الرحيم الكيب
Prime Minister of Libya
Acting
In office
24 November 2011 – 14 November 2012
PresidentMustafa Abdul Jalil
Mohammed Ali Salim (Acting)
Mohammed Magariaf
DeputyMustafa Abushagur
Preceded byAli Tarhouni (Acting)
Succeeded byAli Zeidan
Personal details
Born(1950-03-02)2 March 1950
Tripoli, British Administration of Tripolitania
(now Libya)
Died21 April 2020(2020-04-21) (aged 70)
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States
Political partyIndependent
Spouse(s)Mawia Kaddoura
Alma materUniversity of Tripoli
University of Southern California
North Carolina State University

Early life

El-Keib left Libya in 1976 and joined the Libyan opposition,[7] and over the years worked to help finance the movement.[8] From a prestigious family from Tripoli with roots and part of his family in Sabratha – a coastal town 70 kilometers (45 miles) west of Tripoli[4] – during his exile, El-Keib would meet his family, who remained in Libya, during their mutual excursions to Tunis, Morocco, and elsewhere.

Academic career

El-Keib moved to Los Angeles, California, where he earned his master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California in 1976; he then moved to Raleigh, North Carolina where he earned his doctorate from North Carolina State University in 1984.[9] He joined the University of Alabama as an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering in 1985 and became Professor in 1996. He has lectured at the University of Tripoli, North Carolina State University, and the University of Alabama.[10] El-Keib, an expert in power system economics, planning and controls, and in strategic planning for higher education took leave from his tenured faculty position at Alabama to direct the Division of Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Engineering at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from 1999 to 2001. In 2006 he left Alabama to chair the EE Department and to lead the effort to establish the graduate program at The Petroleum Institute in the UAE (where El-Keib remained until he joined the Libyan Transitional National Council as one of its representatives for Tripoli in 2011). He supervised many MSc theses and PhD dissertations on "capacitive compensation planning and operation for primary distribution feeders" and was the recipient of several teaching and research awards.

El-Keib did research in the area of Electrical Power Engineering and is an author of numerous research papers. His research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the United States Department of Energy (US DoE), Southern Company Services (SC), and Alabama Power Company (APCO). He published numerous papers and research reports and a book chapter. His work on Emissions Constrained Dispatch and VoltlVar compensation on primary distribution feeders has been implemented by several companies in the United States. He also served as a consultant to several utility companies including Alabama Power Company and Southern Company Services.

He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Science and Technology Foundation from 2001 to 2007, a member of the Science and Technology Panel, the Islamic Development Bank, Senior member of IEEE, Associate Editor for the IEEE Power Engineering Society Letters, 1992–2000, and the World Science and Engineering Academy and Society (WSEAS) Transactions on Power Systems, a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Korean Institute of electrical Engineers (KIEE)/Society of Power Engineering, and of the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Innovations in Energy Systems and Power (IJESP).[11]

In 2005, El-Keib founded the Libyan International Company for Energy and Technology.[4]

Community work

El-Keib lead the Islamic community during his two decades in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was involved in informal, inter-faith dialogue.[12] He was married to Mawia Kaddoura, who taught at The University of Alabama, American university of Sharjah, The Petroleum Institute, and Al Hosn University. Her father served as a President of The University of Libya and later as a Senator during the reign of King Idris.

Prime Minister of Libya

On 1 November 2011, El-Keib was named the interim Prime Minister of Libya after garnering 26 out of 51 votes from the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC).[13] Despite repeated clashes with the NTC, his Cabinet stayed in office through the national elections, which it held successfully in a transparent, free, and democratic manner.

Foreign policy

During his tenure as Prime Minister, El-Keib's time was largely dedicated to foreign policy. Libya has restored relationships with the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. El-Keib collaborated well with the United Nations and the European Union on issues of interest to Libya during that time, and also sought to collaborate with the Arab and Islamic world. In addition, he exerted serious effort to ensure the members of the African Union and other countries such as Russia, China and other southeastern Asian nations of Libya's interest to maintain mutually beneficial political, security, and economic relationships, and collaborations which are based on mutual respect and respect for national sovereignty and interests. His government called for and held a security conference that involved the ministers of defense and security in Libya's neighboring countries including Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, and Mali. El-Keib addressed the African Union, the International Human Rights Organization, and the UN security Council. He visited several important countries and received many foreign leaders in Tripoli to assure all that Libya was on the right track and making progress to hold national elections, Libya's first in almost fifty years including 42 years of dictatorship and moreover following a bloody revolution. His efforts were also useful in obtaining what was needed to increase the country's oil production, which reached a level of 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) from about 200,000 bpd as well as the release of Libyan frozen funds.        

Personal life

El-keib died from a heart attack on 21 April 2020 at the age of 70.[14]

References
  1. "Dr. Abdurrahim El-Keib ؛Professor and chairman". The Petroleum Institute. Department of ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. 31 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  2. Libyan PM official website, retrieved 3 January 2012
  3. "Abdul Raheem al-Keeb elected Libya's interim PM". Thomson Reuters. Reuters Africa. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  4. Profile: Prestigious background, Gulf News, Agence France-Presse, 2 November 2011
  5. "Libya: Abdel Rahim al-Kib named new interim PM". BBC News. BBC. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  6. "Congress votes to approve Zeidan Government; six members referred to Integrity Commission". Libya Herald. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  7. Holmes, Oliver (1 November 2011). "Libya's new prime minister is low-key technocrat". Reuters..
  8. Profile: Abdurrahim El Keib, AlJazeera, 1 November 2011
  9. David Lowenstein, New Libyan PM earned master’s degree at USC, Daily Trojan, 2 November 2011, accessed 30 January 2013.
  10. Sheridan, Mary Beth (1 November 2011), "Dual U.S.-Libyan citizen chosen as prime minister of Libya", The Washington Post
  11. Department of Electrical Engineering: Dr. Abdurrahim El-Keib: Professor and Chairman, The Petroleum Institute, archived from the original on 2 November 2011, retrieved 2 November 2011
  12. "New Libyan PM was Alabama professor for 20 years". Associated Press. 1 November 2011.
  13. "Libya's NTC names interim prime minister". Al Jazeera. 1 November 2011.
  14. Mohareb, Hatem. "Former Libyan Premier El-Keib Dead After Heart Attack". Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ali Tarhouni
Acting		 Prime Minister of Libya
2011–2012		 Succeeded by
Ali Zeidan
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