Moussa Koussa: Difference between revisions
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Kussa worked as a security specialist for Libyan embassies in Europe before being appointed as Libya's Ambassador to the [[United Kingdom]] in 1980. He was expelled from the United Kingdom later in 1980, after stating his intention to eliminate political opponents of the Libyan government who were living in the UK. Later he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1994 and as the head of the Libyan intelligence agency from 1994 to 2009.<ref name=Spy/> |
Kussa worked as a security specialist for Libyan embassies in Europe before being appointed as Libya's Ambassador to the [[United Kingdom]] in 1980. He was expelled from the United Kingdom later in 1980, after stating his intention to eliminate political opponents of the Libyan government who were living in the UK. Later he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1994 and as the head of the Libyan intelligence agency from 1994 to 2009.<ref name=Spy/> |
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He was a key figure in the normalization of relations between Libya and many NATO nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Kossa was key in securing the release of [[Pan Am flight 103]] bomber [[Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi]]. In October 2008, he met both British and Scottish government officials, listed as an interpreter. In a second visit in January 2010, he was listed as Minister of Security.<ref name=Telg8417610>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8417610/Profile-Moussa-Koussa-the-Lockerbie-spymaster-who-defected.html|title=Profile: Moussa Koussa, the Lockerbie spymaster who defected|publisher=Telegraph|date=30 March, 2011|accessdate=2011-03-30}}</ref> |
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He was a key figure in the normalization of relations between Libya and many NATO nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. |
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==Foreign minister== |
==Foreign minister== |
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In April 2009, Kussa presided over the 28th council meeting of the [[Arab Maghreb Union]] (comprising [[Algeria]], Libya, [[Morocco]], [[Mauritania]] and [[Tunisia]]) in the Libyan capital [[Tripoli]].<ref>[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86035840/AFP AFP Getty Images]</ref> |
In April 2009, Kussa presided over the 28th council meeting of the [[Arab Maghreb Union]] (comprising [[Algeria]], Libya, [[Morocco]], [[Mauritania]] and [[Tunisia]]) in the Libyan capital [[Tripoli]].<ref>[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86035840/AFP AFP Getty Images]</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8417610/Profile-Moussa-Koussa-the-Lockerbie-spymaster-who-defected.html Profile by The Telegraph] |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| NAME =Kussa, Mussa |
| NAME =Kussa, Mussa |
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Revision as of 23:27, 30 March 2011
Mussa Kussa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Foreign Minister of Libya | |
| In office 4 March 2009 – 31 March 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Abdel Rahman Shalgham |
| Succeeded by | position vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1949? Libya |
Mussa Kussa (Arabic: موسى كوسا; born c. 1949) is a Libyan political figure and diplomat, who served in the government of Libya as Minister of Foreign Affairs from March 2009, into the 2011 Libyan uprising, when he resigned his position in March 2011.[1]
Kussa previously headed the Libyan intelligence agency from 1994 to 2009, and was considered one of the country's most powerful figures.[2] He arrived in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2011, and later the Foreign and Commonwealth Office released an official statement saying that Mussa no longer wished to represent the Libyan government,[3] and intended to resign.[1]
Education
Kussa attended Michigan State University, earning a bachelor's in sociology in 1978.[4]
Diplomat and intelligence chief
Kussa worked as a security specialist for Libyan embassies in Europe before being appointed as Libya's Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1980. He was expelled from the United Kingdom later in 1980, after stating his intention to eliminate political opponents of the Libyan government who were living in the UK. Later he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1994 and as the head of the Libyan intelligence agency from 1994 to 2009.[2]
He was a key figure in the normalization of relations between Libya and many NATO nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Kossa was key in securing the release of Pan Am flight 103 bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi. In October 2008, he met both British and Scottish government officials, listed as an interpreter. In a second visit in January 2010, he was listed as Minister of Security.[5]
Foreign minister
On 4 March 2009, Mussa Kussa was designated as Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Abdel Rahman Shalgham, in a ministerial reshuffle announced by the Libyan parliament.[2]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
In an interview published by Al-Sharq al-Awsat on 10 November 2009, Kussa sharply criticized some aspects of Chinese investment in Africa. According to Kussa, it was unacceptable for the Chinese to bring "thousands of Chinese workers to Africa" when Africans themselves needed jobs, and he spoke of "a Chinese invasion of the African continent" that he said "brings to mind the effects that colonialism had on the African continent". Kussa also harshly criticized China's unwillingness to deal with the African Union and its preference for dealing with individual African states, which he said was suggestive of a divide and rule policy. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of political cooperation in addition to economic cooperation, saying that the former was lacking in China's relationship with Africa. He said that China only dealt in business, and never engaged in political support, in order to please all sides in a dispute.[6]
Koussa was described as "hands shaking" as he announced a cease-fire weeks into the 2011 uprising, after the UN Security Council had opened the way to a no-fly zone. Western "officials indicated that they were prepared to move quickly if a decision was made to take military action. Britain, France and then the United States responded [to the cease-fire announcement] with almost identically worded skepticism ...." Attacks by government troops on Benghazi were also being reported -- and denied -- at the time, some hours after the announced cease fire.[7]
On 29 March, 2011, Kussa wrote to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, nominating the former foreign minister of Nicaragua’s socialist Sandinista government and one-time president of the United Nations General Assembly, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann as Libya’s new ambassador to the UN. The letter stated that Brockmann was nominated, as Ali Abdussalam Treki, also a former General Assembly president who was their first choice, was denied a visa to enter the United States under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.[8]
UK Diplomatic visit and defection
After departing Tripoli by car and arriving in Tunis, Tunisia, on 28 March 2011, via the Ras Jdir border crossing, a Tunisian Government spokesman via Tunis Afrique Presse stated that Kussa had arrived on a "private visit."[9] On 30 March 2011, he departed from Djerba on a Swiss-registered private jet,[10] arriving at Farnborough Airfield, England, according to Libyan sources on a diplomatic mission.[11] The Foreign and Commonwealth Office later released an official press statement, stating that Mussa no longer wished to represent the Libyan government and intended to resign,[1][3][12] unhappy with Libyan Army attacks on civilians.[13]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Foreign Office statement on Musa Kusa". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 30 March, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c "Libyan spy chief named FM in reshuffle", AFP, 4 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Libyan minister arrives in London on surprise visit". BBC News. 30 March, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://vitalperspective.typepad.com/vital_perspective_clarity/libya/
- ^ "Profile: Moussa Koussa, the Lockerbie spymaster who defected". Telegraph. 30 March, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Yitzhak Shichor, "Libya Cautions China: Economics Is No Substitute to Politics", China Brief, Volume 9, Issue 24, Jamestown Foundation, 3 December 2009.
- ^ Bumiller, Elisabeth and David D. Kirkpatrick, "Obama Warns Libya, but Attacks Go On", The New York Times, March 18, 2011 (March 19, 2011 p. A1 NY ed.). Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ Bill Varner and Blake Schmidt (29 March 2011). "Former Nicaragua Sandinista Leader Named Libya's UN Envoy". Reuters. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
- ^ "Libyan FM visits Tunisia". English.news.cn. 28 March, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Why is the Libyan foreign minister flying to London?". International Business Times. 30 March, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Libya formin has not defected - govt spokesman". Reuters. 30 March, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Libyan foreign minister defects". AlJazeera. 30 March, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Libya FM defects from government, seeks refuge in Britain". Haaretz. 30 March, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
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