The Prime Minister this evening praised outgoing Libyan ambassador Saadun Ismail Suayeh for having always sought to be a true representative of the Libyan people.

Dr Suayeh is stepping down after having represented both the Gaddafi regime and then the NTC government in Malta.

He told Dr Gonzi during a farewell call this afternoon that he felt it was time that he returned to academic life.

Dr Suayeh, who turns 65 in May, is a professor of English. He reiterated this afternoon that he had not been pressured to leave but was relinquishing his post for health reasons.

He told the press that he had decided to stay on as ambassador following the fall of Gaddafi after he was advised to do so by a Libyan minister.

The ambassador said that during and after the uprising some people misunderstood his decision to stay on, but he was confident that "people who count in Maltese politics have understood".

He recalled how, when he learnt that the rebels were closing in on Tripoli he was in Pennsylvania, US and he immediately called the embassy in Malta and instructed the staff to replace the green flag with the NTC's.

He said he will always be close to Malta, "my bosom friend".

Dr Suayeh thanked Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and said he had appreciated his speech when he had said 'Gaddafi must go'.

Dr Gonzi said that he and Dr Suayeh had shared difficult and challenging moments and he was very appreciative of the fact that the ambassador had always acted as ambassador of the Libyan people and not its government.

He thanked him for his help in coordinating Malta's humanitarian mission during the crisis.

There was now a new chapter in Maltese Libyan relations and Dr Suayeh had written its first page.

Dr Gonzi hoped his successor would be appointed soon.