Libya: The Qaddafi Regime

In Sept., 1969, a group of army officers led by 27-year-old Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi ousted King Idris in a coup. The 1951 constitution was abrogated, and government was placed in the hands of a 12-member Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) headed by Qaddafi, who became prime minister. In mid-1972, Qaddafi turned the post of prime minister over to Abdul Salam Jallud, but he remained the RCC's president, the country's most important political and military office.

The regime pursued a policy of Arab nationalism and strict adherence to Islamic law; though Qaddafi espoused socialist principles, he was strongly anti-Communist. He was particularly concerned with reducing Western influences; the British were forced (1970) to evacuate their remaining bases in Libya, and the United States was required to abandon Wheelus Field, a U.S. air force base located near Tripoli. Libya's foreign policy was generally reoriented away from N Africa and toward the heart of the Middle East. Close ties were established with Egypt, and in 1971 Libya joined with Egypt and Syria to form a loose alliance called the Federation of Arab Republics. A “cultural revolution” launched in 1973 sought to make life in the country more closely approximate Qaddafi's socialist and Muslim principles.

An implacable foe of Israel, Libya contributed some men and matériel (especially aircraft) to the Arab side in the Arab-Israeli war of Oct., 1973. After the war, Libya was a strong advocate of reducing sales of petroleum to nations that had supported Israel and was also a leading force in increasing the price of crude petroleum. Qaddafi was severely critical of Egypt for negotiating a cease-fire with Israel, and relations between the two countries declined steadily after 1973 when Qaddafi failed to push through a merger with Egypt.

Qaddafi survived numerous coup attempts and abortive uprisings through the 1990s; in 1980 he began ordering the assassination of Libyan dissidents who were living in exile in Europe. In 1981, two Libyan fighter planes attacked U.S. forces on maneuvers in the Gulf of Sidra (which Libya claims as national waters) and were shot down. Libya's relations with the United States became even more hostile when it began to support international terrorist organizations. The United States placed a ban on Libyan oil imports in 1982. In 1986, in an apparent attempt to kill Qaddafi, U.S. President Reagan ordered air strikes against Tripoli and Benghazi in retaliation for the Libyan-sponsored terrorist attack in West Berlin that had killed two American servicemen. Libya's attempts in the mid-1980s to form a union with Algeria and Tunisia, while not successful, resulted (1989) in the Arab Maghreb Union (see Maghreb).

In 1988, a bomb blew up on a Pan Am commercial airplane over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. International warrants were issued for the arrest and extradition to Great Britain of two Libyan suspects in the case, but the government refused to surrender them. Libya was also implicated in the similar 1989 bombing of a French UTA DC-10 over Niger in which 170 people died. In 1989, it was discovered that a West German company was selling Libya equipment for the construction of a chemical weapons plant at Rabta. These actions, as well as the widespread belief in the United States and Europe that Qaddafi's regime was responsible for terrorist activities, led to American and UN sanctions against Libya in 1992. Libya pulled its troops out of the Aozou Strip, a mineral-rich region of N Chad, in 1994 after the World Court rejected its claim to that territory. In 1995 there were clashes between Libyan security forces and members of Islamic groups in E Libya. The United States charged (1996) that Libya was constructing a chemical weapons plant southeast of Tripoli and said Libya would be prevented from putting it into operation.

Beginning in the late 1990s Libya embarked on a series of moves designed to end its estrangement from Western nations. In Apr., 1999, Libya handed over the suspects in the Lockerbie crash to the United Nations; they were to be tried in the Netherlands under Scottish law. The UN sanctions were suspended, but those imposed by the United States remained in place. In Dec., 1999, Qaddafi pledged not to aid or protect terrorists. Libya agreed in 2003 to a $2.7 billion settlement with the families of the victims. and that and a revised settlement for viction of the UTA bombing led the UN Security Council to lift the sanctions imposed more than a decade earlier. In December, after negotiations with the United States and Great Britain, the government renounced the production and use of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons and agreed to submit to unannounced international inspections. Subsequently (Mar., 2004), Libya acknowledged that it had produced and had stockpiles of chemical weapons, and agreed to their destruction (completed 2014). As a result of these events, the United States lifted most sanctions and resumed diplomatic relations with Libya, although it continued to list Libya as a state sponsor of terrorism until mid-2006. The last of three payments due under the 2003 agreement, however, was not made until late 2008. In Sept., 2008, Italy and Libya signed a memorandum under which Italy agreed to pay $5 billion over 20 years as compensation for its three decades of colonial rule in Libya.

In Feb., 2011, antigovernment protests in Libya quickly became a full-scale uprising, as the government lost control of Benghazi and NE Libya as well as a number of cities in NW Libya. By the end of the month, however, the government had brutally suppressed protesters in the capital, and in early March it recaptured many cities it had lost to the rebellion. Hundreds of thousands of foreigners fled the country. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in June for Qaddafi and other government members in connection with the killing of protesters.

As Qaddafi's forces advanced on Benghazi, the UN Security Council approved (March) a no-fly zone over Libya; it was enforced by aircraft from a mix of NATO and Arab nations, which at times also attacked government ground forces. The Benghazi-based rebels, who established a governing council, fought a seesawing contest for central N Libya. Misratah and the Nafusa Mtns. became the most signifcant battlegrounds in the west, and after repulsing government forces there, the rebels made some advances by midyear. The rebels benefited from aid from some Western and other nations, and their National Transitional Council (NTC) was recognized by some nations. In August, increasing rebel successes culminated in the fall of Tripoli; in September, the NTC was recognized by the United Nations as Libya's legitimate government.

Rebel forces captured Surt (Sirte) and Bani Walid, two remaining Qaddafi strongholds, in Oct., 2011; Qaddafi was killed while trying to flee Surt. At the end of the month, Abdurrahim el-Keib was appointed prime minister by the NTC, and a new cabinet was named in November. The situation remained unsettled, however, with occasional fighting erupting between rival militias and tribes, and in Feb., 2012, leaders in E Libya called for the establishment of the autonomous region of Cyrenaica there, a move that was denounced in W Libya.

In July, the 200-members of the national congress were elected, with no group clearly dominating the result. In September, Mustafa Abu Shagur, who had served as a deputy to el-Keib, was chosen as prime minister, but he proved unable to form an acceptable government. Ali Zeidan, a former diplomat and exile, was chosen to replace him in October, and formed a government. Also in September the U.S. ambassador was killed in an attack by Islamic militants on the Benghazi embassy. The attack led to a crackdown on Libyan militias, but they remained a significant force and problem in the country, and in subsequent years were a factor in a number of deadly clashes including a July, 2014, fight for control of the Tripoli airport. In Jan., 2013, the president of the national congress survived an attempted assassination; attacks against other prominent leaders also occurred.

The congress in May passed a law banning senior officials in the Qaddafi regime from the government; its enactment was forced by armed groups that surrounded government offices. In December the congress voted to make Islamic law the basis of Libyan law, and also voted to extend its mandate by a year, adopting a plan that called for a new constitution to be drafted by Aug., 2014, and a parliament to be elected by Dec., 2014. Meanwhile, groups favoring a federal state sought to establish a government in Cyrenaica and seized control (until mid-2014) of the region's oil resources; Berbers also interrupted oil and gas shipments in an attempt to win political recognition. Such political, and significant religious, regional, and tribal, divisions have thwarted the establishment of a unified national government, and stoked violence and insecurity. In Mar., 2014, after an oil tanker eluded the Libyan navy and left from the port of Sidra in Cyrenaica, Zeidan was dismissed.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni became prime minister in April but then announced his resignation following an attack on his family. In May Ahmed Maiteg was elected to succeed al-Thinni under chaotic circumstances, and al-Thinni refused to cede power; ultimately Maiteg's election was ruled invalid. Also in May, forces loyal to former general Khalifa Haftar began attacks against the government (which Haftar accused of supporting terrorism) and against Islamists. An election for a House of Representatives was held in June, but turnout was low; candidates were required to run as individuals instead of on party slates, and in the resulting body the influence of Islamists was greatly diminished. Prior to the election the cabinet called for the new legislature to be based in Benghazi.

The political situation subsequently deteriorated as Islamist and regional militias and government forces fought for control of Tripoli and Benghazi. In August and September, Islamists from Misrata established control over Tripoli and reestablished the national congress, in which Islamists had been dominant. Other Islamists fought government forces for Benghazi, seizing control for a time. In October the army regained much of the city, but control subsequently seesawed as fighting there continued. The newly elected House meanwhile established itself in Tobruk, and by August Libya had rival legislatures and prime ministers, with al-Thinni again holding that post in Tobruk; his government was generally recognized internationally. In November, the Libyan supreme court, which had remained the Tripoli, declared the election of the House of Representatives unconstitutional; the House denounced the verdict, saying it was influenced by Islamists militias.

Forces aligned with the rival governments subsequently fought for control of the country's oilfields and oil terminals, and in 2015 militants aligned with the Islamic State (IS) became a significant third force, based primarily in Surt (Sirte), which it largely controlled. In early 2015 the Tobruk government overturned the ban on the participation of former Qaddafi officials in the government, and subsequently Khalifa Haftar was appointed to lead its military forces. Some members of the rival parliaments signed a political agreement in Dec., 2015, that called for both bodies to participate in a government of national accord, but the heads of the legislatures did not participate.

Despite divisions in Tripoli and Tobruk over whether to support the new unity government, steps toward its establishment continued. In Mar., 2016, the unity government began setting up offices in Tripoli, and it subsequently appeared to win the acceptance of many in the Tripoli government, but it did not gain support in Tobruk. Tobruk's forces, led by Haftar, gained control of most of Benghazi by mid-2016, and E Libyan government eventually reestablished itself there. Forces aligned with the unity government mounted an offensive against IS forces in Surt and recaptured the city in December; IS forces then established camps in the desert.

In September, Haftar's forces seized control of three oil ports on central coast; they lost control of them to Benghazi Islamic militias for several days in Mar., 2017. Two of the ports were again contested in June, 2018, but Haftar's forces regained control. At the same time his forces were involved in fighting to seize control of Derna, on the E coast. In July, Haftar returned control of the oil ports his forces had seized to the national oil company, which had forced the halt of oil exports from the ports after they were seized. In Aug.–Sept., fighting over funds and power among militias aligned with the unity government led to the worst violence in Tripoli in four years.

In Apr., 2019, after successes in Libya's south, Haftar's forces moved against Tripoli and had some success. In November, the Tripoli government signed maritime and military agreements with Turkey, and in 2019 and 2020 Turkey sent Syrian fighters and Turkish forces to Libya in support of Tripoli. Meanwhile, in December, Haftar's forces began a new push on the capital; the following month they captured Surt (Sirte). A cease-fire was established, but in the subsequent weeks it broke down, was reestablished, and broke down again. Forces allied with Haftar also shut down most oil production and exports in early 2020, depriving the Tripoli government of oil revenue.

With Turkish aid, forces aligned with Tripoli government secured Tripoli and surrounding areas in May and June, and then advanced toward Surt. In July, the Benghazi government called on Egypt to intervene in the conflict to counter Turkish support for Tripoli. At the same time, the victories exposed divisions in the Tripoli government. Protests in September over living conditions in E Libya led Haftar's forces to lift their oil blockade. Both sides signed a cease-fire in October, which largely held, but subsequent negotiations on forming a transitional government proved difficult.

Both sides have received backing from foreign governments, with the Tripoli-based government supported by Qatar and Italy (in addition to Turkey), and Haftar's forces supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia, and France. In addition to the Syrian fighters aligned with the Tripoli government's forces, Russian mercenaries have been reported fighting with Haftar's forces, and both sides have used Sudanese mercenaries. In October 2020, a ceasefire was declared and in March 2021 an interim unity government was formed. Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh is serving as interim Prime Minister. Elections planned for Dec. 24, 2021 (the 70th anniversary of Libya's independence) to establish a new government were cancelled at the last minute and delayed at least for a month, leaving the country in uncertainty as to its leadership.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Qaddafi Regime
• Italian Rule, Independence, and the Discovery of Oil
• Through the Nineteenth Century
• Government
• Economy
• Land and People
• Bibliography

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