Moussa Koussa

Moussa Muhammad El-haj Nemr Koussa
Portrait of Moussa Koussa, made in September 2010
Koussa in September 2010
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Libya
In office
4 March 2009 – 30 March 2011
Prime MinisterBaghdadi Mahmudi
LeaderMuammar Gaddafi
Preceded byAbdel Rahman Shalgham
Succeeded byAbdelati Obeidi
Personal details
Born1949?
Tajura, Libya
Alma materMichigan State University

Moussa Muhammad El-Haj Nemr Koussa (Arabic: موسى كوسا, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈmusaˌkosa]; born 1949?)[1] is a Libyan political figure and diplomat, who held several high-profile positions in the Libyan government, lastly as Minister of Foreign Affairs from March 2009, into the Libyan Civil War, when he resigned his position on 30 March 2011.[2]

Koussa previously headed the Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya (national intelligence agency) from 1994 to 2009, and was considered one of the country's most powerful figures and a member of Gaddafi's inner circle.[3] When he arrived in the United Kingdom in March 2011, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office released an official statement saying that Koussa no longer wished to represent the Libyan government[4] and intended to resign.[2] No charges were pressed against him by the British government, and in the following months financial sanctions on him were lifted by the Obama administration. He now lives in a small house in a suburb of Doha, Qatar, after being asked to leave his suite in Doha's luxurious Four Seasons hotel.[5]

  1. ^ Beaumont, Peter (31 March 2011). "Profile: Moussa Koussa". The Guardian. London.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference FCO576566082 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Inside Gaddafi's inner circle – Africa. Al Jazeera English. (2011-02-27). Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC12915685 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Qaddafi's spymaster takes a walk". Doha. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.