Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has sacked his prime minister and replaced him with an economist, following moves to reform the country's socialist-based economy.
Prime Minister Mubarak Abdallah al-Shamikh will be replaced by former economy and trade minister Shukri Ghanem.
Colonel Gaddafi has recently proposed the wholesale privatization of Libya's oil sector. He has also indicated that the country's economy should be opened up both to the domestic private sector and foreign companies.
"The public sector fulfilled its duties in the stage of establishing industries, housing complexes and electricity," Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalqam told the Arabic-language TV station al-Jazeera on Saturday.
"But bureaucracy and the inflated workforce called for reviews," he added.
Ghanem, 61, has served as economy and foreign trade minister since December 2001. He also served as Director of OPEC's Research Division and acting deputy of the Secretary General of OPEC in Vienna. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
