SEATTLE (AP) — The teacher stunned a microeconomics class at the University of Washington a month ago when he said he was returning to his native Libya to help advise opponents of Moammar Gadhafi on economics issues.
Since then Ali Tarhouni has been named finance minister of the rebels’ shadow government.
The Seattle Times reports the 60-year-old left Libya in 1973 and has been a lecturer at the university in Seattle since 1985. He’s known for starting classes with a discussion of world events and their economic relevance.
Congressman Jim McDermott says he knows Tarhouni but didn’t realize how deeply involved he is in Libyan politics until he called asking McDermott to support the no-fly zone and to encourage the United States to recognize the provisional government.
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Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com
