Libya ex-Minister Shukri Ghanem dead in Danube River

Mr Ghanem defected from Libya in the midst of the anti-Gaddafi uprising

The body of Libya’s former Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem has been found in the Danube River, Austrian police say.

There were no signs of violence to Mr Ghanem’s body, said a police spokesman. An autopsy has been ordered.

The former prime minister, 69, worked as a consultant for a Vienna-based company. He apparently left his home on Sunday normally dressed, police said.

Mr Ghanem defected from Libya as the country was engulfed in the uprising against Col Muammar Gaddafi last year.

At the time, he criticised the bloodshed in Libya, saying that the situation had become “unbearable”, making his position untenable.

He served as Libyan prime minister from 2003 to 2006 and then as oil minister until 2011.

Source: BBC