A former vice chairman of Enron, the giant US energy company that is the world's biggest bankrupt, was found shot dead in a car today in an apparent suicide, police said.

Police in the Houston suburb, Sugarland, confirmed the death of 43–year–old Clifford Baxter. He was shot in the head.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Cliff Baxter. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends," the company said in a statement.

Baxter was vice chairman of Enron when he resigned last May, several months before the energy company's collapse.

At the time his resignation was announced, then President Jeff Skilling said Baxter had made "a tremendous contribution to Enron's evolution, particularly as a member of the team that built Enron's wholesale business."

It said his primary reason for resigning is to spend more time with his family.