International Relations
Libya had been diplomatically isolated and subject to international sanctions since the November 1991 indictment of two Libyans for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988 (the Lockerbie bombing). Following Ghanem's appointment as prime minister, Libya successfully sought re-entry into the international community and the lifting of sanctions. Ghanem was seen as the main spokesman and architect of this rapprochement, which included paying $2.16 billion compensation in August 2003 to the families of the 270 people who died in the bombing, and renouncing weapons of mass destruction.
On 8 April 2011, against the background of the Libyan civil war, the US Treasary department announced sanctions against him.
Read more about this topic: Shukri Ghanem
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“International relationships are ... preordained to be clumsy gestures based on imperfect knowledge.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)