The former Prime Minister of Libya, Abdel Ati bin Ibrahim Al-Obeidi, a prominent figure in the nation’s political history, passed away on Saturday at the age of 84, as confirmed by his family in a statement.

Al-Obeidi’s career spanned several decades and included a pivotal role in Libya’s diplomatic history. He served under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi and held various high-ranking positions within the Libyan government.

During his tenure, Al-Obeidi served as Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979 and later as General Secretary of the General People’s Congress from 1979 to 1981. One of his most significant contributions was his involvement as one of the primary negotiators in Libya’s historic decision to denounce and abandon its nuclear weapons program.

During the Libya 2011 conflict between Gaddafi loyalists and anti-Gaddafi rebels, Al-Obeidi was appointed as foreign minister following the defection of Moussa Koussa. Just a week after Koussa’s defection, on April 3, 2011, Al-Obeidi flew to Greece to present a peace proposal to his Greek counterpart, Dimitrios Droutsas.

On August 31, 2011, Al-Obeidi was detained by rebel forces west of Tripoli. In a subsequent legal proceeding in June 2013, he was found not guilty of a charge of mismanagement.