Libyan Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem speaks during a press conference in Tripoli on March 19, 2011 to announce that Libya’s National Oil Corp will honour its contracts with foreign firms operating in the country. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD TURKIA (Photo credit should read MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images)
Photo: MAHMUD TURKIA/2011 AFP
One-time Libyan prime minister (2003-2006) and former oil minister (2006-2011), Shukri Ghanem, was found dead in the Danube River in Austria on Sunday with “no signs of violence” to his body. The 69-year-old defected from Libya in May 2011 amid the country’s violent uprising. According to the AFP, Ghanem left his native land “to join the choice made by young Libyans to fight for a democratic country.” Thereafter, Ghanem began working as a consultant for a Vienna-based company. “There would be no signs of violence if someone pushed him in,” an Austrian police spokesperson said. “But it’s also possible that he became ill and fell into the water.”
