Imbarek Shamekh () (sometimes Mubarak Abdallah al-Shamikh or Embarek Shamekh) (born 15 May 1952) is a Libyan

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", wh ...

. 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 Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

from 2008 to 2009, and

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

from 2000 to 2003.

Early life and education

Shamekh was born on 15 May 1952 in

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

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 ...

. He moved 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 ...

in the early 1970s to pursue his scholarship. Shamekh attended college at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, 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 (; , ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, almost right in the middle between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups and loyal ...

province from October 1990 to December 1992, and the Minister of Housing and Utilities from December 1992 to March 2000. In March 2000,

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

made sweeping changes to Libya's cabinet structure. Twelve ministers, 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. In February 2011, during the Libyan Civil War, he defected to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. In a leaked phone call between

and Tayeb El Safi from March 2011, Gaddafi expressed his shock at Shamekh's defection.

References

, - {{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 Transport ministers of Libya Housing ministers of Libya Deputy prime ministers of Libya Libyan Arab Socialist Union politicians Libyan defectors Libyan emigrants to Egypt