Libya elected a Prime Minister to head a transitional government, as NATO officially ended its campaign in the African country.

Libya elected a Prime Minister to head a transitional government, as NATO officially ended its campaign in the African country.

Abdel Rahim al-Keib, a native of Tripoli, was elected prime minister in a public vote carried out by the members of the National Transitional Council.
Keib, a little known until now, is also an academic who specializes in electrical engineering. He 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.
Keib, is both an academic and a wealthy businessman, who spent decades abroad as an opponent of Moammer Kadhafi before joining the pro-democracy revolution that overthrew him.

He has been generous in his financial support for the National Transitional Council.
"The main aspects of his program were the stability of the country, of course, the security file and the military file, which will be under the control... of the interior ministry," said Fathi Baja, the NTC's head of political affairs, after a presentation by Keib.
"He also promised to provide for the basic needs of the Libyan people."

NATO ENDS MISSION
Meanwhile, the no-fly zone and naval blockade, enforced by NATO since March 31, ended a minute before midnight Monday Libyan time (2159 GMT), as stipulated by a UN Security Council resolution last week that ended the alliance's mandate.

Operation Unified Protector was terminated even though Abdel Jalil had asked for the alliance to stay until the end of the year, warning that Kadhafi loyalists still posed a threat.

But NATO deemed that civilians were safe from attacks after the new regime declared the country liberated following Gaddafi’s death and the fall of his hometown of Sirte on October 20.