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Country information: Libya
| Official Name: | Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriyya |
| Population: | 6,6 million |
| Capital: | Tripoli |
| Government: | Jamahiriyya; political governance through local councils led by the populace, however Libya remained an authoritarian state under the previous leadership of Muammer Qadhafi |
| Leaders: | Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Head of the Transitional National Council |
| Religion: | Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3% |
| Languages: | Arabic, Italian, English |
| GDP: | $90.57 billion (CIA 2010 est.) |
| GDP/Capita: | $14,000 (CIA 2010 est.) |
| Main exports: | Crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals |
| Time zone: | GMT + 2 |
| International dialing code: | +218 |
| Currency: | 1 Libyan Dinar (LYD) = USD 0.7942 |
Country briefing
Libya gained independence in 1951 after having been colonized by the Italians between 1911-1943 and then stood under UN administration. King Idris I ruled the country until the military coup led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 1969. Libya is often called an artificial state, mainly because its territory was founded on the three culturally separate provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fezzan.
Gaddafi embarked on a radically different route than most had expected. In the 1970s, he laid out his political philosophy in a publication he called The Green Book. The Libyan leader argued that he had solved the problem of democracy, and initiated the establishment of the so-called “jamahiriyya” – a state managed through local councils by the citizens themselves. However, Libya remained under the dictatorial leadership of Gaddafi.
Libya was isolated from the international community in the 1980s and 1990s, partly because of its involvement in the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. As a result of increasing foreign pressure, Libya accepted to pay compensation to relatives of the dead, leading to the lifting of UN and US sanctions. Signs of rapprochement between Libya and the West followed, with Gaddafi’s first visit to Europe in 15 years in April 2004.
However, as popular protests and intense fighting between oppositional groups and regime forces broke out in 2011, the West once again turned against Gaddafi. The brutal attacks on civilians by the government resulted in UN resolution 1973 and a NATO mission to establish a no-fly zone over Libya. An international coalition performed air raids on Gaddafi’s forces. The NATO intervention enabled the opposition to gain the upper hand. The situation deteriorated into something that closely resembled an outright civil war. In August 2011, the rebels managed to capture the capital of Tripoli and forced Gaddafi to flee. At the time of writing, the former dictator’s whereabouts are unknown, but a rebel council, known as the Transitional National Council (TNC), has established a government that maintain close contacts with the Western powers. The UN General Assembly in September recognized the TNC as the legitimate interim governing body of Libya. In October, the last Gaddafi stronghold fell and the former dictator was killed.
