The Embassy of Libya in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Libya also maintains a Consular & Cultural Affairs Section at 61-62 Ennismore Gardens,

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

and a Medical Office at 22 Red Lion Street,

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

. The former embassy which was named as Libyan People's Bureau was formerly located in the

St James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End of London, West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of ...

district and was frequently targeted by protesters opposed to the rule of

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

. On 17 April 1984, shots were fired from the embassy towards protesters on

St James's Square St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian architecture, Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was ...

, injuring ten and killing a British police officer,

Yvonne Fletcher The murder of Yvonne Fletcher, a Metropolitan Police officer, occurred on 17 April 1984, when she was fatally wounded by a shot fired from the Libyan embassy on St James's Square, London, by an unknown gunman. Fletcher had been deployed to m ...

. With the subsequent siege of the embassy by armed police and expelling of those inside, diplomatic relations with Libya were broken off and were not resumed until 1999, whereupon the embassy was moved to its current location in

. The embassy was again the focus of attention in 2011 during the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks ...

. There were several protests in the early part of the year against the Gaddafi government's crackdown on protesters in

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

, culminating in the occupation of the embassy's roof and the swapping of the flag with that of the

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. After rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, the NTC governed Libya for a further ...

(now the current Libyan flag). In July of that year the British government expelled the existing embassy staff and formally recognised the NTC as the sole legitimate authority in Libya.

Gallery

File:Embassy_of_Libya_in_London_2.jpg, Plaque outside the embassy File:Libyan Peoples Bureau London.jpg, The embassy in 2008, prior to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi File:Former Libyan People's Bureau, St James's Sq, London.JPG, The former Libyan Embassy (left) in St James's Square which was known as the Libyan People's Bureau

Notable workers

Omar Ahmed Sodani Omar Ahmed Sodani was "a prominent figure in Muammar Gaddafi's regime" suspected of having murdered PC Yvonne Fletcher The murder of Yvonne Fletcher, a Metropolitan Police officer, occurred on 17 April 1984, when she was fatally wounded by ...

References

{{Diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom

Diplomatic missions of Libya Libya–United Kingdom relations Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Knightsbridge

Gallery

Notable workers

See also

References