Abdel Rahman Shalgam (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: عبد الرحمن شلقم; born 22 January 1949) is a Libyan politician. He was

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

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 ...

from 2000 to 2009.

Early life

Shalgam was born in the village of Ahlgrevh in southern Libya to a respectable family.

Career in politics

In 1973, he worked for DAWN newspaper. From 1984 to 1995, before taking the office of Foreign Minister, Shalgam was Secretary (

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

) of Libya's People's Bureau (Libyan Embassy) to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy. From 1998 to 2000 he was appointed

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...

at the Secretariat of the General People's Congress of

. During Shalgham's tenure of office, a relative thaw in US-Libyan relations came about, with high-level contacts being maintained between Libya and the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

. Shalgham was replaced as Foreign Minister by

Moussa Koussa Moussa Muhammad El-Haj Nemr Koussa ( ar, موسى كوسا, ; born 1949?) is a Libyan political figure and diplomat, who held several high-profile positions in the Libyan government, lastly as Minister of Foreign Affairs from March 2009, into the ...

on 4 March 2009 and was instead appointed as Libya's representative at the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...

, where Libya had a non-permanent seat until 31 December 2009. He remains Libya's ambassador to the UN as of early 2011.

Role in Libyan civil war

After the outbreak of 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 February 2011, Shalgham initially sided with

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by '' The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

, with whom he had been friends for many years. He continued to side with Gaddafi as late as 22 February. On that day, he confirmed that civilians had not been the target of bombing (contrary to initial reports), but demanded that the violence stop. "If one Libyan has been killed - not ten or 20 - but one," Shalgram said at a press conference held that day, "this is a crime." On 25 February, however, Shalgham denounced Gaddafi in an emotional speech before the

. Most of the UN's Libyan delegation had abandoned Gaddafi four days earlier. Shalgham initially "could not believe" Gaddafi was firing on his own people, but could no longer support his government after Gaddafi publicly called for the protests to be put down by force. Partly due to his lobbying, the Security Council passed Resolution 1970, which imposed harsh sanctions against Libya and referred the situation to the International Criminal Court. Shalgham applauded the resolution, saying it would "help put an end to this fascist regime, which is still in existence in Tripoli." On 5 March 2011, Shalgam was appointed emissary to the UN by 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 ...

. Earlier that day, the Libyan government had notified the UN of its desire to replace Shalgam as the Libyan representative, appointing

Ali Treki Ali Abdussalam Treki ( ar, علي عبد السلام التريكي‎; 10 October 1937 – 19 October 2015) was a Libyan diplomat in Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Treki served as one of Libya's top diplomats beginning in the 1970s and ending wit ...

as its new envoy in his place.

References

External links

*
Speech at UNE
in 2010
Talking to media at UN headquarters
after giving a speech on the state of Libya's political upheaval
Abdurrahman M. Shalgam - Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the UN.
In: Mission Staff, CV Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shalgham, Abdel Rahman 1949 births Living people Foreign ministers of Libya Permanent Representatives of Libya to the United Nations Ambassadors of Libya to Italy