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Libya
Libya, once shunned by much of the international community over the 1988 bombing of a PanAm plane above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, has undergone a dramatic rehabilitation.
Tripoli formally took responsibility for the incident in 2003. The move, part of a deal to compensate families of the 270 victims, heralded the lifting of UN sanctions. Months later, Libya renounced weapons of mass destruction, paving the way for a further blossoming of relations with the West.
Overview
Libya, a mostly desert and oil-rich country on the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea with an ancient history, has more recently been renowned for the 42-year rule of the mercurial Col Muammar Gaddafi.
In 2011, the colonel's autocratic government was brought to an end by a six-month uprising and ensuing civil war. The country is currently governed by the National Transitional Council that emerged from the rebellion and has pledged to turn Libya into a pluralist, democratic state. A former Roman colony, Libya saw invasions by Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks and more recently Italians before gaining independence in 1951. Oil was discovered in 1959 and made the state - then a kingdom ruled by the head of the Senussi sufi order - wealthy.
Col Gaddafi came to power by overthrowing King Idris in a coup in 1969, ten years after independence, and Libya embarked on a radically new chapter in its history. After initially seeking to emulate the Arab nationalism and socialism of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Col Gaddafi's rule became increasingly eccentric. Ideas put forward in his Green Book aimed to set forth an alternative to both communism and capitalism. Islam was adhered to, but with a unique slant. Col Gaddafi called the new system a Jamahiriya, loosely translated as a "state of the masses". In theory, power was held by people's committees in system of direct democracy, without political parties.
In practice, Col Gaddafi's power was absolute, exercised through a hierarchy of "revolutionary committees", formed of loyal regime supporters. After the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am plane above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, which the US blamed on Libya, the Gaddafi regime was shunned by much of the international community. But it underwent a dramatic rehabilitation by taking formal responsibility for the bombing in 2003 and paying compensation to the victims. Two Libyans suspected of organising the incident were handed over in 1999 for trial in The Hague under Scottish law. In 2001 one of the suspects was found guilty of killing 270 people in the bombing. The UN lifted sanctions, and Libya's subsequent renunciation of weapons of mass destruction further improved relations with the West.
In 2009, convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, diagnosed with terminal cancer, was freed from prison on compassionate grounds and returned home in August.
In 2011, the world once again turned against the Libyan government over its use of violence against the popular uprising against the colonel, inspired by the anti-authoritarian protests sweeping through the Arab world.
The UN Security Council passed a resolution authorising Nato air strikes to protect civilians. After taking over the country's east and pockets in the west, the rebels made slow progress, until in August 2011; they stormed into Tripoli, effectively bringing Col Gaddafi's dictatorship to an end. Several weeks later Col Gaddafi was killed when his holdout was overrun.
Libya possesses considerable reserves of oil and gas.
Facts
· Population: 6.5 million (UN, 2010)
· Capital: Tripoli
· Area: 1.77 million sq km (685,524 sq miles)
· Major language: Arabic
· Major religion: Islam
· Life expectancy: 73 years (men), 78 years (women) (UN)
· Monetary unit: 1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams
· Main exports: Crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas
· GNI per capita: US $12,020 (World Bank, 2009)
· Internet domain: .ly
· International dialling code: +218
LeadersHIP
Chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC): Mustafa Abdul Jalil
Mustafa Abdul Jalil presides over the National Transitional Council, which took control following the popular uprising that ended Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year-long rule in 2011. Mr Abdul Jalil previously served as Col Gaddafi's justice minister before defecting to the opposition at the beginning of the uprising - the first senior official to do so. Announcing the "liberation" of Libya the day after Col Gaddafi was captured and killed on 22 October; he called for reconciliation, and said that Islamic law would be the foundation of legislation.
His pre-eminence in the NTC is also contested by those who see him as tarnished by his association with the Gaddafi government. He has at times struggle to rein in differences within the NTC and balance the interests of Islamists and secularists in the anti-Gaddafi ranks. The NTC said in October 2011 that it would hold elections to a Public National Conference within eight months. The body will appoint an interim government and a constituent authority tasked with drafting a constitution within 60 days. The constitution would put to a referendum. If it is approved, general elections will take place within six months.
Prime Minister of the Interim Government: Abdurrahim Al-Keib
Abdurrahim al-Keib Mr al-Keib, who is from Tripoli, is seen as a consensus candidate He was elected as prime minister of the NTC's interim government on 31 October 2011 after the resignation his predecessor, Mahmoud Jibril. Mr Jibril had said he would stand down once final victory over Col Gaddafi was achieved. An academic specialising in engineering who lives in Tripoli, Mr Al-Keib is said to be well-liked by other NTC members and was regarded as a consensus candidate for the post of PM. Unlike Mr Jibril, who was economic adviser to Col Gaddafi, Mr Al-Keib spent most of his professional career abroad and is seen as untainted by any links to the former regime.
Ousted leader: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
Until his ouster in 2011, Muammar Gaddafi had been the Arab world's longest-serving leader. A mercurial and shrewd operator, he survived several attempts on his life and reinvented Libya's system of government. He was captured by rebel fighters on 20 October 2011 in his hometown of Sirte, several weeks after going into hiding. He died soon after; amid conflicting reports about how exactly his death happened.
Coup
Inspired by the Egyptian nationalist leader Gamal Abdul Nasser, the colonel came to power in a bloodless coup in 1969 against the ailing King Idris. Col Gaddafi presented himself as an Arab nationalist, but his attempts to forge unity with other Arab states met with little success. In the 1990s he turned to Africa and proposed a "United States of Africa". The concept later formed the basis of the African Union.
From 1970s onwards, Col Gaddafi angered the West with his support for a broad range of armed groups, including the Irish Republican Army and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Libya’s alleged involvement in attacks in Europe in the 1980s triggered US military strikes in 1986. Dozens of people were killed, including the Libyan leader's adopted daughter.
However, Colonel Gaddafi returned to the international fold after Libya settled civil claims of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing and agreed to stop developing weapons of mass destruction.
Western politicians, including the British, Italian, French and German leaders, thereupon visited Tripoli in search of lucrative economic deals.