Abdulrahman Ben Yezza ( ar, عبد الرحمن عبدالله بن يزة) 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 the east, Suda ...

n businessman and politician who is the Oil Minister in the government of Abdurrahim El-Keib. Prior to the 2011

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 ...

, Ben Yezza served as "chairman of the operator's management committee" for

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

oil company Eni. He also worked for Libya's National Oil Corporation during Libya's governance by Muammar Gaddafi, but he quit the company voluntarily due to reported differences with its then-leader Shokri Ghanem, a member of Gaddafi's inner circle. In 2014 the Libyan government has named Abdulrahman Ben Yezza as chairman of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA). He temporarily replaced AmbdulMagid Breish who had to step out pending investigation into his role in the Gaddafi administration. Ben Yezza was originally considered for an appointment to government under the interim administration of

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 ...

, 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 ...

's prime minister during the fight to overthrow Gaddafi. Jibril's overt contemplation of naming Ben Yezza, who was ultimately passed over in favor of retaining Deputy Prime Minister

Ali Tarhouni Ali Abdussalam Tarhouni ( ar, علي عبد السلام الترهوني, born 1951) is a Libyan economist and politician. Tarhouni served as the minister for oil and finance on the National Transitional Council, the provisional governing aut ...

, to head the Oil Ministry was seen by some analysts as a gesture to the

government of Italy The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President. The Italian Constituti ...

, a major investor in Libyan oilfields and an important supporter of the Libyan civil war. Ben Yezza was ultimately given the portfolio of Oil Minister by Jibril's successor, Abdurrahim El-Keib, on 22 November 2011.

References

Oil ministers of Libya Living people Members of the National Transitional Council Members of the Interim Government of Libya Libyan businesspeople Year of birth missing (living people) {{Libya-bio-stub