( CNN ) -- A week after dismissing the nation 's prime minister , Libya 's General National Congress late Sunday selected a new man -- Ali Zeidan -- to assume the post . Mohamed al-Magariaf , the head of the North African nation 's national assembly , announced Zeidan 's ascension to prime minister in a statement Sunday . He got 93 votes from Libyan lawmakers , eight more than his closest contender , Mohammed al-Harary . Zeidan , a former diplomat , has been given an October 28 deadline to form an interim government . Last Sunday , the same congress rejected Prime Minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur 's crisis government proposal , resulting in his automatic dismissal less than a month after he was appointed . The vote was overwhelmingly against Abushagur 's plan , with 125 voting `` no confidence , '' 44 `` confidence '' and 17 abstaining . Libyans went to the polls three months ago to elect GNC members -- the nation 's first elected body in almost half a century -- with expectations of change and progress that elected officials could bring about . Now public frustration is mounting with the lack of security , the slow process of creating a strong army and police force and rebuilding the country after the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi . Read more : Libyan militias melt into desert , wait for another day . Born in Waddan , a Saharan desert town in central Libya , the embattled country 's new prime minister was educated in India and served as a Libyan diplomat from 1975 to 1982 , according to the official Libyan News Agency . Zeidan left Gadhafi 's government that year and joined the National Front for the Salvation of Libya , a prominent left-leaning opposition group . And in 1989 , he became the official spokesman of the Libyan League for Human Rights . With Gadhafi 's ouster , Zeidan returned to assume roles in his native country , including as the National Transitional Council 's envoy to France . Read more : U.S. sends new acting ambassador to Libya . CNN 's Amir Ahmed contributed to this report .
Libya 's assembly tapped Mustafa Abushagur as prime minister on September 12 . They rejected his crisis government plan last Sunday , resulting in his dismissal . Ali Zeidan is named the next prime minister ; he has two weeks to form a government . He is a human rights advocate and diplomat .