Imbarek Shamekh ( ar, امبارك عبدالله الشامخ) (sometimes Mubarak Abdallah al-Shamikh or Embarek Shamekh) (born 15 May 1952) is a
Libyan politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and
bureaucrat. He served as the
Secretary-General of General People's Congress of Libya (head of state) from 2009 to 2010. He previously served as
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
from 2008 to 2009, and
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
from 2000 to 2003.
Early life and education
Shamekh was born on 15 May 1952 in
Benghazi
Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...
,
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 ...
. He moved 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 ...
, and attended college at the
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, where he graduated in 1981 with a degree in engineering.
Career
From February 1982 to March 1984, Shamekh was the Minister of Transportation for Benghazi. From March 1984 until October 1990, he served as Minister of Transportation. He was Governor of
Sirte
Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar G ...
province from October 1990 to December 1992, and the Minister of Housing and Utilities from December 1992 to March 2000.
In March 2000, Libya made sweeping changes to its cabinet structure. Twelve ministers were replaced and the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister were replaced. From then until June 2003, Shamekh was Prime Minister (also known as General Secretary of the General People's Committee).
Shamekh was President of the Higher Planning Council of Libya from June 2003 until September 2004. From September 2004 to January 2005 he served as the Governor of Benghazi. He served as Deputy Prime Minister March 2008 to March 2009, when he resigned his post to become Secretary-General of
General People's Congress of Libya
The General People's Congress ( ar, مؤتمر الشعب العام الليبي, ''Mu'tammar al-sha'ab al 'âmm''), often abbreviated as the GPC, was the national legislature of Libya, during the existence of Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan Arab Jam ...
.
In February 2011, 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 ...
, he defected to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamekh, Imbarek
1952 births
Living people
University of Central Florida alumni
People from Benghazi
Heads of state of Libya
Secretaries-General of the General People's Congress
Prime Ministers of Libya
Government ministers of Libya
Libyan Arab Socialist Union politicians
Transport ministers of Libya
Libyan defectors
Libyan emigrants to Egypt