Libya appoints prime minister

LIBYA’S interim rulers yesterday elected academic Abdel Rahim al-Kib to head a transitional government as NATO was set to end an air campaign that played a major role in ousting Muammar Gaddafi.

Kib, a native of Tripoli, was elected prime minister in a public vote carried out by the members of the National Transitional Council.

The little-known academic who specialises in electrical engineering beat four other candidates, winning 26 out of 51 votes.

“This vote proves that Libyans are able to build their future,” NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said after he voted.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen earlier made a brief visit to Tripoli, saying he foresaw no major role left for the alliance in Libya hours before its air mission was due to end.

“At midnight tonight, a successful chapter in NATO’s history is coming to an end. But you have also started writing a new chapter in Libya’s history,” he told a press conference.