Mohamed al-Megaryef, the president of Libya's top political body, resigned on Tuesday to comply with a new law banning Qadhafi-era officials from government jobs. "Everyone must obey the law out of respect for legality and democracy. I tender my resignation... in conformity with the law," Megaryef told a plenary session of the General National Congress.
Megaryef was Libya's ambassador to India in the 1980s under the regime of now slain dictator Muammar Qadhafi before he defected to become a leader of the exiled opposition for three decades. "I leave with my head held high and my conscious clear," said Megaryef, who stressed he was the first of Qadhafi-era officials to conform to the law.