Ali Abdussalam Tarhouni ( ar, علي عبد السلام الترهوني, born 1951) is a

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and politician. Tarhouni served as the minister for oil and finance on the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

, the provisional governing authority in Libya, from 23 March to 22 November 2011. He acted in the capacity of interim prime minister of Libya during the departure of outgoing incumbent

Mahmoud Jibril Mahmoud Jibril el-Warfally ( ar, محمود جبريل الورفلي), also transcribed Jabril or Jebril or Gebril (28 May 1952 – 5 April 2020), was a Libyan politician who served as the interim Prime Minister of Libya for seven and a half mon ...

from 23 October 2011 until Abdurrahim El-Keib was formally named to succeed Jibril on 31 October.

Early life and education

Born in Libya, Tarhouni studied economics at the

University of Libya The University of Libya ( ar, الجامعة الليبية) was a public university based in Tripoli and Benghazi, Libya. The university was established in 1955 and disestablished in 1973, when its colleges were split into two new universities: ...

, until fleeing the country in 1973. He was stripped of citizenship, sentenced to death in absentia, and put on a government hit list in 1981. After immigrating to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Tarhouni continued his studies, earning a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

(1978) and a PhD (1983) from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. From 1985 up until the outbreak of the Libyan revolution, he had been a popular senior lecturer in business economics at the

University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business The Michael G. Foster School of Business is the business school at the University of Washington in Seattle. It was founded in 1917. The school has more than 50,000 alumni, and is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Busin ...

where he won numerous teaching awards.

Political career

Tarhouni was named to head both the oil and finance ministries of the

, an opposition council formed to coordinate anti-Gaddafi elements during the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

in March 2011. He acted as a frequent spokesman for the council and wielded considerable influence as a prominent liberal in the opposition. He officially announced the transfer of the NTC from Benghazi to Tripoli on 25 August 2011. On 3 September 2011, Tarhouni, acting as deputy chairman of the NTC's executive board, announced he was also chairman of a Supreme Security Committee, responsible for all security matters in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. Tarhouni was named as deputy prime minister on 2 October 2011 after acting in the position for several months. He succeeded

as acting prime minister following Libya's declaration of liberation just 21 days later. On 31 October 2011, Tarhouni's term as acting prime minister ended with the election of Abdurrahim El-Keib in a vote taken by the 51 members of the NTC. In 2012, Tarhouni founded the

National Centrist Party National Centrist Party ( ar, التيار الوطني الوسطي) is a parliamentary political party in Libya, launched by former interim oil minister, Ali Tarhouni, on 23 October 2011. It is a centrist political movement, with bases on demo ...

, becoming its first leader. He said that his party would collaborate with

National Forces Alliance The National Forces Alliance ( ar, تحالف القوى الوطنية, ') is a political alliance in Libya. The alliance was created in February 2012. It includes 58 political organisations, 236 NGOs, and more than 280 independents. The allianc ...

. He was elected as the head of the constituent assembly on 22 April 2014.

After politics

Tarhouni said at a press conference in late November 2011 that he was offered a position in Keib's government, but he declined, claiming the new cabinet was "supported from the outside by money, arms and PR" in an apparent reference to the role of

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

in backing the NTC. He criticised Keib's selection of government ministers as "the elite" and said the government was not sufficiently representative of the country. In December 2011, Tarhouni returned to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for a week. He gave a brief speech at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

on 20 December in which he reflected on his role in the Libyan revolution and talked about his hopes for a democratic transition, including his aim of forming a new political party. Tarhouni also walked back his earlier criticism of the interim government, expressing confidence in its good intentions.

References

External links

Website at University of Washington
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarhouni, Ali 1951 births Living people Prime Ministers of Libya Oil ministers of Libya University of Libya alumni Michigan State University alumni University of Washington faculty Islamic democracy activists Libyan democracy activists Libyan emigrants to the United States National Centrist Party politicians Libyan academics Libyan Sunni Muslims Members of the National Transitional Council People of the First Libyan Civil War