Ali Abdussalam Tarhouni (; born 1951) is a

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

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 (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. After rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, the NTC governed Libya for a further ...

, the provisional governing authority in Libya, from 23 March to 22 November 2011. For a little over a week, he acted in the capacity of interim prime minister of Libya during the departure of outgoing incumbent Mahmoud Jibril 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, 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Tarhouni continued his studies, earning a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

(1978) and a PhD (1983) from

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

. 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 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 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. Tarhouni was named deputy prime minister on 2 October 2011 after acting in that capacity for several months. He succeeded Mahmoud Jibril 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, becoming its first leader. He said that his party would collaborate with Mahmoud Jibril's National Forces Alliance. 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, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

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 the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

for a week. He gave a brief speech at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

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 Finance 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 Libyan civil war (2011)