The Presidential Council (, ''al-Majlis ar-Rīʾāsiy'') is a body formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement which was signed on 17 December 2015. The Council carries out the functions of

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

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 ...

and is proposed to command the Libyan Armed Forces. The agreement has been unanimously endorsed by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

which welcomed the formation of the Presidency Council and recognized that the

Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord (GNA; ) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement was unanimously endors ...

is the sole legitimate executive government of Libya. After the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

ceased recognizing the unity government in 2022 and installed a rival government, the Presidential Council has been responsible for the Government of National Unity.

History

Between 2014 and March 2021, two governments, one in Tripoli and one in Tobruk, have vied for power. The government in Tobruk was recognized by the international community prior to the formation of the Presidential Council.

Skhirat agreement

In October 2015, the UN envoy for Libya, Bernardino León, announced a proposal for the House of Representatives to share power with the rival new GNC government, under a compromise Prime minister,

Fayez al-Sarraj Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj ( or ; born 20 February 1960) is a Libyan politician who served as the chairman of the Presidential Council (Libya), Presidential Council of Libya and List of heads of government of Libya, head of government of the Govern ...

. However, the terms of the final proposal were not acceptable to either side, and both rejected it. Nonetheless, the proposal did spark a revised proposal put together by Fayez al-Sarraj and others, which was subsequently supported by the United Nations. On 17 December 2015 members of the House of Representatives and the new General National Congress signed this revised political agreement, generally known as the ''"Libyan Political Agreement"'' or the ''"Skhirat Agreement"''. Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidency Council and a seventeen-member interim

would have been formed, with a view to holding new elections within two years. The House of Representatives would have continued to exist as a legislature and an advisory body, to be known as the High Council of State, would have been formed with members nominated by the New General National Congress. On 31 December 2015, Chairman of the House of Representatives,

Aguila Saleh Issa Aguila Saleh Issa Gueider (; born January 11, 1944) is a Libyan jurist and politician who is the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives (Libya), House of Representatives since 2014. He therefore served as the List of heads of state of Li ...

declared his support for the Libyan Political Agreement. The Chairman of the Presidential Council,

(former member of the Tobruk parliament), and seven of the council's other members arrived in Tripoli on 30 March 2016 at the Abu Sittah naval base. The following day, it was reported that the GNA has taken control of the prime ministerial offices and that the rival

National Salvation Government The National Salvation Government () was a government body formed by politicians from the General National Congress's blocs that lost the June 2014 elections in Libya. The NSG was led by Khalifa al-Ghawil. The term Libya Dawn Coalition was ...

appointed prime minister Khalifa al-Ghawi had fled to Misrata. On April 5, the National Salvation Government announced that it was resigning, "ceasing operations," and ceding power to the Presidential Council.

Government of National Unity

On 10 March 2021, the House of Representatives met in the central city of

Sirte Sirte (; , ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, almost right in the middle between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups and loyal ...

to formally approve the formation of a Government of National Unity led by

Mohamed al-Menfi Mohamed Yunus al-Menfi (; born 3 March 1976) is a Libyan diplomat and politician. On 5 February 2021, he was chosen as the president of the Libyan Presidential Council at the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum. Previously, he had served as the Lib ...

as Chairman of the Presidential Council and

Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh Abdul Hamid Muhammad Abdul Rahman al-Dbeibeh (, also transliterated as Dbeibah) is a Libyan politician and businessman who is the prime minister of Libya under the Government of National Unity (Libya), Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripo ...

as Prime Minister. In 3 March 2022, the House of Representatives ceased to recognize the Government of National Unity and the Presidential Council, and installed a rival government, the

Government of National Stability The Government of National Stability () is a rival government that controls eastern Libya. It was formed on 3 March 2022, is led by Osama Hamada and supported by the House of Representatives and the Libyan National Army. Since its inception, th ...

, under the leadership of Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha. The decision was denounced as illegitimate by the High Council of State and condemned by the

. Since then, the Presidential Council has been responsible for the Government of National Unity.

Structure

The Presidential Council is led by a Chairman supported by Vice-Chairmen representative of the historical regions of Libya.Article 1.3 of the

Libyan Political Agreement The Libyan House of Representatives (HoR; ) is the legislature of Libya resulting from the 2014 Libyan parliamentary election, which had an 18% turnout. On 4 August 2014, in the course of the progressing August 2014 Islamist coup in the capital ...

. 2015. Any decision taken by the Council must be approved unanimously by the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen.

Members

March 2021-present

A new Presidential Council was approved by the

House of representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

on 10 March 2021, following an agreement reached at the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum under

mediation:

March 2016-March 2021

Between March 2016 and March 2021, the members of the council were:

References

External links

Chairman of the Presidential Council - Official Facebook profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics Of Libya Government of Libya Politics of Libya Collective heads of state 2016 establishments in Libya