The Libyan Ambassador to Malta, Saadun Suayeh, has resigned his post for health reasons, but insists he is leaving the island with “a clear conscience”.

Malta played a bigger role than a lot of people think

Dr Suayeh confirmed when contacted that he had submitted his resignation to the Libyan Foreign Minister and will be returning to Libya to work as a consultant with the Libyan Foreign Ministry.

“I am being relieved from my position as Ambassador to Malta upon my request for purely health and family reasons. Of course, my ties with Malta, a country that I cherish and love deeply, will always remain strong,” he said.

Dr Suayeh will be paying a farewell call to President George Abela at San Anton Palace on Wednesday morning.

Late last month, Dr Suayeh said he had been mulling resigning but strongly rebutted claims he had been asked to leave by the Libyan National Transitional Council.

The Italian media had claimed Dr Suayeh, who turns 65 in May, had been ordered to relinquish his post by the end of January because the interim government wanted to appoint someone else instead.

Describing this story as “a blatant lie and unethical”, Dr Suayeh had insisted no one had asked him to resign and should he decide to do so, it would be for health reasons.

Since then, Dr Suayeh, who comes from an academic background, decided to call it a day and wrap up his first assignment as ambassador. He had assumed his role in Malta in August 2010.

Dr Suayeh, a professor of English, cited episodes related to the Libya crisis and the fall of the Gaddafi regime as the highlight of his ambassadorship.

“The most important highlight was the liberation of my hometown, Tripoli. I was away from Malta at the time and I felt personally liberated. The second highlight was the day we received news about Colonel Gaddafi’s death,” he said.

In February last year, when the Libya crisis erupted, Dr Suayeh had rejected calls for his resignation made by Libyans who protested against the Gaddafi regime outside the embassy.

He had said he represented the interests of all the Libyan people, including those who were protesting against the regime, but insisted at the time that Col Gaddafi should not go because his presence was a guarantee for the country’s unity. It later emerged he had actually been working behind the scenes with the National Transitional Council in conjunction with the Maltese government.

Dr Suayeh said Malta had played a very significant role in the uprising, adding that Libya and the Libyans will always remember it.

“Malta played a bigger role than a lot of people think, be it with the humanitarian assistance, as well as with taking a firm stand on what the Libyan government was doing at the time. I always had an understanding with the Maltese government. There was a time when I was doing it from behind the scenes but there was a perfect understanding. The Libyan people will always be grateful to the Maltese people,” he said.

Dr Suayeh said his tenure in Malta was difficult because of the events in his home country.

“My consolation is that I leave here with a clear conscience. I leave with the independence flag flying high above the embassy,” he said.

Dr Suayeh confirmed his successor had not yet been nominated but he still wished him all the best.