Elections for a General National Congress (GNC) were held in Libya on 7 July 2012, having been postponed from 19 June. They were the first elections since the overthrow and death of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi a year earlier, the first free national elections since 1952, and only the second free national elections since Libya gained independence in 1951.

Abdurrahim Abdulhafiz El-Keib, PhD, was a Libyan politician, professor of electrical engineering, and entrepreneur who served as interim Prime Minister of Libya from 24 November 2011 to 14 November 2012. He was appointed to the position by the country's National Transitional Council on the understanding that he would be replaced when the General National Congress was elected and took power. Power was handed to the Congress on 8 August 2012, and the assembly appointed El-Keib's successor Ali Zeidan in October 2012.