Politics of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi
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From 1969 to early 2011, the politics of Libya were determined ''de facto'' by
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
, who had been in power since his overthrow of the
Kingdom of Libya The Kingdom of Libya ( ar, المملكة الليبية, lit=Libyan Kingdom, translit=Al-Mamlakah Al-Lībiyya; it, Regno di Libia), known as the United Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1963, was a constitutional monarchy in North Africa which ca ...
in 1969. Gaddafi abolished the post-1951 Libyan Constitution and introduced his own political philosophy, based on his '' Green Book'' published in the 1970s. Gaddafi's system was known as ''
Jamahiriya The Third International Theory () was the style of government proposed by Muammar Gaddafi in the early 1970s, on which his government, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, was officially based. It was partly inspired by Isl ...
'' and was notionally legally based on the legislative General People's Congress (GPC), consisting of 2,700 representatives of Basic People's Congresses, and the executive
General People's Committee The General People's Committee ( ar, اللجنة الشعبية العامة, ''al-lajna ash-sha'biyya al-'āmma''), often abbreviated as the GPCO, was the executive branch of the government of Libya, during the existence of Muammar Gaddafi's L ...
, headed by a
General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
. An essential part of Gaddafi’s political philosophy can be summed up in this excerpt from his Green Book: “A parliament is originally founded to represent the people, but this in itself is undemocratic as democracy means the authority of the people and not an authority acting on their behalf. The mere existence of a parliament means the absence of the people. True democracy exists only through the direct participation of the people, and not through the activity of their representatives.” The Jamahiriya Sector was overseen by the Revolutionary Sector. This was headed by Muammar Gaddafi as "Brotherly Leader of the Revolution", the Revolutionary Committees, and the surviving members of the 12-person Revolutionary Command Council established in 1969. This "revolutionary sector" held office by virtue of having led the revolution and therefore was not subject to election. As a consequence, although Gaddafi held no governmental post after 1980, he maintained absolute control over the country until the collapse of his regime during the
Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
.


History of Libyan politics under Gaddafi

For the first seven years following the 1969 revolution, Colonel Gaddafi and 12 fellow army officers, the Revolutionary Command Council, began a complete overhaul of Libya's political system, society, and economy. On 2 March 1977, Gaddafi convened a General People's Congress (GPC) to proclaim the establishment of "
people's power {{Unreferenced, date=August 2007 People's Power (Spanish and Portuguese: Poder Popular) is a common political rallying cry used in party names and slogans. Instances of its use include: *Lok Shakti, a political party in India * National Assembly ...
," change the country's name to the
Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Comman ...
, and to vest, theoretically, primary authority in the GPC. Gaddafi remained the ''de facto'' chief of state and secretary general of the GPC until 1980, when he gave up his office. He continued to control all aspects of the Libyan government through direct appeals to the masses, a pervasive security apparatus, and powerful revolutionary committees. Although he held no formal office, Gaddafi exercised absolute power with the assistance of a small group of trusted advisers, who included relatives from his home base in the
Sirte Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar G ...
region, which lies between the rival provinces of
Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...
and
Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
. During his rule, Gaddafi took increasing control of the government, but he also attempted to achieve greater popular participation in local government. In 1973, he announced the start of a " people's revolution" in schools, businesses, industries, and public institutions to oversee administration of those organizations in the public interest. The March 1977 establishment of "people's power" —with mandatory popular participation in the selection of representatives to the GPC— was the culmination of this process. In the 1980s, competition grew between the official Libyan Government and military hierarchies and the revolutionary committees. An abortive coup attempt in May 1984 apparently mounted by Libyan exiles with internal support, led to a short-lived reign of terror in which thousands were imprisoned and interrogated. An unknown number were executed. Gaddafi used the revolutionary committees to search out alleged internal opponents following the coup attempt, thereby accelerating the rise of more radical elements inside the Libyan power hierarchy. After the 1986 bombing of Libya by the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, Gaddafi decreed that the word "Great" should be appended to the beginning of the name, rendering its official name ''Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma'', or
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Comman ...
. In 1988, faced with rising public dissatisfaction with shortages in consumer goods and setbacks in Libya's war with
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
, Gaddafi began to curb the power of the revolutionary committees and to institute some domestic reforms. The regime released many political prisoners and eased restrictions on foreign travel by Libyans. Private businesses were again permitted to operate. Around the same time, Gaddafi began to pursue an anti- fundamentalist Islamic policy domestically, viewing fundamentalism as a potential rallying point for opponents of the regime. Ministerial positions and military commanders are frequently shuffled or placed under temporary house arrest to diffuse potential threats to Gaddafi's authority. Despite these measures, internal dissent continued. Gaddafi's security forces launched a preemptive strike at alleged coup plotters in the military and among the
Warfalla tribe The Warfalla ( ar, ورفلة) is a tribe that resides in the west of Libya, in the town of Bani Walid, their stronghold. Usually estimated to be Libya’s largest tribe with up to one million of the total population of about 6 million people, the ...
in October 1993. Widespread arrests and government reshufflings followed, accompanied by public "confessions" from regime opponents and allegations of torture and executions. The military, once Gaddafi's strongest supporters, became a potential threat in the 1990s. In 1993, following a failed coup attempt that implicated senior military officers, Gaddafi began to purge the military periodically, eliminating potential rivals and inserting his own loyal followers in their place.


Political sectors under Gaddafi


Revolutionary sector

Organs of a
military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
were first put into place in 1969. These organs were never dissolved throughout the period of Gaddafi's rule, though after the proclamation of the ''jamahiriya'', they were reorganised. The "revolutionary sector" of Gaddafi's ''jamahiriya'' was officially under the control of "
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution The Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ( ar, الأخ القائد ومرشد الثورة الجماهرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الإشتراكية ال ...
" Muammar Gaddafi after 1979. Beginning in 1977, Gaddafi had introduced "revolutionary committees" assigned the task of "absolute revolutionary supervision of people's power"; that is, they were to guide the people's committees and "raise the general level of political consciousness and devotion to revolutionary ideals". In reality, Gaddafi's revolutionary committees were used to survey the population and repress any political opposition to Gaddafi's autocratic rule. Reportedly 10 to 20 percent of Libyans worked in surveillance for these committees, a proportion of informants on par with
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
's Iraq or
Kim Jong Il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...
's North Korea.


Prominent members

Until the
Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
, General
Abdul Fatah Younis Abdul Fatah Younis Al-Obeidi (; ar, عبد الفتاح يونس, sometimes transliterated ''Fattah Younis'' or ''Fattah Younes'' or ''Fatah Younes''; 1944 – 28 July 2011) was a senior military officer in Libya. He held the rank of major gene ...
may have been second to Gaddafi in the government hierarchy and was also interior minister. He resigned on 22 February 2011. On 1 March 2011, Quryna reported Gaddafi sacked his right-hand man, information chief
Abdullah Senussi Abdullah Senussi ( ) is a Libyan national who was the intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He was married to Gaddafi's sister-in-law. Scottish police officers plan to interview him in connection with the Lockerbie ...
, who was responsible for the brutality against the protestors.
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
on 4 March 2011 issued a security alert concerning the "possible movement of dangerous individuals and assets" based on the
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 was a measure adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 26 February 2011. It condemned the use of lethal force by the government of Muammar Gaddafi against protesters participating in the ...
(travel bans and assets freeze). The warning lists Gaddafi himself and 15 key members of his regime: #
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
: Responsibility for ordering repression of demonstrations, human rights abuses. # Dr.
Baghdadi Mahmudi Baghdadi Ali Mahmudi ( ar, البغدادي علي المحمودي) (born 1945) is a Libyan politician who was Secretary of the General People's Committee (prime minister) of Libya from 5 March 2006 to as late as 1 September 2011, when he acknowl ...
: Head of the Liaison Office of the Revolutionary Committees. Revolutionary Committees involved in violence against demonstrators. # Abuzed Omar Dorda: Director, External Security Organisation. Regime loyalist. Head of external intelligence agency. # Major General
Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr ( ar, أبو بكر يونس جابر), (1940 – 20 October 2011) was the Libyan Secretary of the Libyan General Committee for Defence during the rule of Muammar Gaddafi. His official position was Secretary of the Li ...
: Defense Minister. Overall responsibility for actions of armed forces. #
Ayesha Gaddafi Ayesha Gaddafi ( ar, عائشة القذافي, born December 25, 1977), also known as Aisha Gaddafi, is a Libyan former mediator and military official, former UN Goodwill Ambassador, and lawyer by profession. She is the fifth child and only bi ...
: Daughter of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. #
Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi (; born 20 September 1976) is the fifth son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife, Safia Farkash. Biography Gaddafi was born in Tripoli in either 1975 or 1976. He started his maritime career by jo ...
: Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. #
Mutassim Gaddafi Mutassim Billah Gaddafi ( ar, المُعْتَصِمٌ بِٱللهِ ٱلْقَذَّافِيّ, also transliterated as Al-Moa'tassem Bellah Al-Qaddafi or Al-Mutasim Billah al-Qadhafi; 18 December 1974 – 20 October 2011) was a Libyan Army ...
: National Security Adviser. Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime #
Al-Saadi Gaddafi Al-Saadi Muammar Gaddafi , also spelt as Al-Saadi Moammer Al-Gaddafi ( ar, الساعدي معمر القذافي; born 25 May 1973) is a Libyan retired professional football player. He captained the national team, but his career was widely att ...
: Commander Special Forces. Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. Command of military units involved in repression of demonstrations. #
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi ( ar, سيف الإسلام معمر القذافي; born 25 June 1972) is a Libyan political figure. He is the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash. He was a p ...
: Director, Gaddafi Foundation. Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. Inflammatory public statements encouraging violence against demonstrators. # Abdulqader Yusef Dibri: Head of Muammar Gaddafi's personal security. Responsibility for regime security. History of directing violence against dissidents. # Matuq Mohammed Matuq: Secretary for Utilities. Senior member of regime. Involvement with Revolutionary Committees. Past history of involvement in suppression of dissent and violence. # Sayyid Mohammed Qadhaf Al-dam: Cousin of Muammar Gaddafi. In the 1980s, Sayyid was involved in the dissident assassination campaign and allegedly responsible for several deaths in Europe. He is also thought to have been involved in arms procurement. #
Khamis Gaddafi Khamis Gaddafi (27 May 1983 – 29 August 2011) was the seventh and youngest son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the military commander in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan Army. He was part of his father's inner circle ...
: Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. Command of military units involved in repression of demonstrations. #
Muhammad Gaddafi Muhammad Muammar Gaddafi (born 15 March 1970; ar, محمد معمر القذافي) is the eldest son of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. While he was regarded as a possible successor as ruler of Libya from his father, he was reported t ...
: Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. #
Saif al-Arab Gaddafi Saif al-Arab Gaddafi ( ar, سيف العرب القذافي, ''lit. Sword of the Arabs; of the Gaddafa''; 1982 – 30 April 2011) was the sixth son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. From around 2006 to 2010, Saif al-Arab spent much of h ...
: Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. # Colonel
Abdullah Senussi Abdullah Senussi ( ) is a Libyan national who was the intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He was married to Gaddafi's sister-in-law. Scottish police officers plan to interview him in connection with the Lockerbie ...
: Director Military Intelligence. Military Intelligence involvement in suppression of demonstrations. Past history includes suspicion of involvement in Abu Sulim prison massacre. Convicted in absentia for bombing of UTA flight. Brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi.


Jamahiriya sector

The term Jamahiriya ( ar, جماهيرية ') is generally translated as "state of the masses". It is intended to describe a state following the political philosophy expounded by Gaddafi in his ''Green Book''. The term does not occur in this sense in Gaddafi's ''Green Book'' itself, although the text does dwell on the concept of the "masses" ( ar, جماهير). The concept was presented as the materialization of the
Third International Theory The Third International Theory () was the style of government proposed by Muammar Gaddafi in the early 1970s, on which his government, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, was officially based. It was partly inspired by Islam ...
, proposed by Gaddafi to be applied to the entire
Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
. The term in practice has only been applied to the Libyan state, of which Gaddafi was the ''Caid'' (translated ''Leader''; strict transliteration '). Although Gaddafi no longer held public office or title after 1980, he was accorded the honorifics "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official press. The government of the
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Comman ...
declared Libya a
direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...
without political parties, governed by its populace through local popular councils and communes (named Basic People's Congresses). Making up the legislative branch of government, this sector comprised Local People's Congresses in each of the 1,500 urban wards, 32 Sha’biyat People's Congresses for the regions, and the National General People's Congress. These legislative bodies were represented by corresponding executive bodies (Local People's Committees, Sha'biyat People's Committees and the National General People's Committee/Cabinet). Every four years the membership of the Local People's Congresses elected by acclamation both their own leadership and secretaries for the People's Committees, sometimes after many debates and a critical vote. The leadership of the Local People's Congress represented the local congress at the People's Congress of the next level and has an imperative mandate. The members of the National General People's Congress elected the members of the National General People's Committee (the Cabinet) by acclamation at their annual meeting. While there was discussion regarding who would run for executive offices, only those approved by the revolutionary leadership were actually elected. The government administration was effective as long as it operated within the directives of the revolutionary leadership. The revolutionary leadership had absolute veto power despite the constitutionally established people's democracy and alleged rule of the people. The government controlled both state-run and semi-autonomous media, and any articles critical of current policies were requested and intentionally placed by the revolutionary leadership itself, for example, as a means of initiating reforms. In cases involving a violation of "these taboos", the private press, like '' The Tripoli Post'', was censored. There was no separate defense ministry in Gaddafi's Libya; all defence activities are centralised under the presidency. Arms production was limited, due to extensive imports from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, and manufacturers were state-owned.


Legislative branch

The General People's Congress (''Mu'tammar al-sha'ab al 'âmm'') consisted of 2,700 indirectly elected representatives of the Basis People's Congresses. The GPC was the legislative forum that interacted with the
General People's Committee The General People's Committee ( ar, اللجنة الشعبية العامة, ''al-lajna ash-sha'biyya al-'āmma''), often abbreviated as the GPCO, was the executive branch of the government of Libya, during the existence of Muammar Gaddafi's L ...
, whose members were secretaries of Libyan ministries. It served as the intermediary between the masses and the leadership and was composed of the secretariats of some 600 local "basic popular congresses." The GPC secretariat and the cabinet secretaries were appointed by the GPC secretary general and confirmed by the annual GPC congress. These cabinet secretaries were responsible for the routine operation of their ministries.


Judicial system

The Libyan court system consisted of four levels: summary courts, which try petty offenses, the courts of first instance, which tried more serious crimes; the courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court, which was the final appellate level. The GPC appointed justices to the Supreme Court. Special "revolutionary courts" and military courts operated outside the court system to try political offenses and crimes against the state. Libya's justice system was nominally based on
Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
law.


Political parties and elections

Political parties were banned by the Prohibition of Party Politics Act Number 71 of 1972, including
Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabicحزب التحرير (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international, political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Isl ...
. The establishment of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was allowed under the Association Act of 1971. As they are required to conform to the goals of the revolution, however, the number of NGOs in Libya was small in comparison with neighboring countries. Unions did not exist as such. However, the numerous professional associations were integrated into the state structure as a third pillar, along with the People's Congresses and Committees, though they did not have the right to strike. Professional associations sent delegates to the General People's Congress, where they have a representative mandate. The General People's Congress (''Mu'tammar al-sha'ab al 'âmm'') consisted out of circa 2700 representatives of the Basis People's Congresses. Before Gaddafi's ''coup'', general elections were held in the 1950s and 1960s. Although political parties contested the 1952 elections, they were subsequently banned and all other elections were carried out on a non-partisan basis.


References


External links


Official Libyan Government websiteAdam Carr's Election Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics Of Libya History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Gaddafi