HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Mustafa Abushagu,

was elected prime minister in Libya today.

Abushagu, who taught electrical and computer engineering at UAH from 1985-2002, was named deputy prime minister in November 2011 following the fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Abushagu defeated the current prime minister Mahmoud Jibril in a 96-94 vote that was televised live in Libya,

Jibril was a former

.

Abushagu's family lived in Huntsville for 17 years while Abushagu was a Libyan refugee.

Abushagu's election comes a day after an attack killed four Americans at a U.S. Consulate in Eastern Libya. Among those killed were Christopher Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya.

Abushagu spoke out strongly against the attacks

"Amb. Stevens was a friend of Libya and we are shocked at the the attacks on the US consulate in Benghazi," Abushagu wrote in one tweet.

In another, he wrote, "I condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms. This is an attack on America, Libya and free people everywhere."

President Obama today condemned the attacks and said in a Rose Garden press conference that the U.S. will, "work with the Libyan government to bring to justice"

those who killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, according to the Associated Press.

In an interview last year with

The Times,

Abushagu's daughter said her father was overjoyed to be returning to his homeland after 30 years.

"It's something he's been dreaming about for years," said his daughter, Soumiea Abushagur. "It's a huge milestone for him."

Soumiea graduated from Grissom High School in 1999 and earned her undergraduate degree from UAH in 2003. Her father taught electrical and computer engineering at UAH.

"Huntsville is our home," said Soumiea, who now lives in Phoenix.

During the revolution, Soumiea's brother, Ousama Abushagur, masterminded a new cell phone network for Libyan rebels that bypasses Gadhafi's state-controlled network, which had jammed dissident communications.

Updated today, Sept. 12, 2012, at 4:46 p.m. with additional background information and links.

Follow me on Twitter @paul_gattis or email me at paul.gattis@htimes.com