The University of Libya () was a public

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

based in Tripoli and

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 ...

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 ...

. The university was established in 1955 and disestablished in 1973, when its colleges were split into two new universities: the

University of Tripoli The University of Tripoli (UOT) (Arabic: جامعة طرابلس), is the largest university in Libya and is located in the capital city of Tripoli. It was founded in 1957 as a branch of the University of Libya before it was divided in 1973 to ...

(later Al Fateh University) in Tripoli, and the University of Benghazi (later Garyounis University) in

History

Origins

Despite its difficult economic situation at the time, in the 1950s the Libyan government decided to found a university. Towards that goal it sent a delegation to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1955 to meet the then-prime minister Gamal Abdul Nasser, and request him to lend some lecturers working in Egypt. The Egyptian government agreed, and promised to pay the salaries of the four borrowed lecturers for four years. The

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

nominated Professor

Majid Khadduri Majid Khadduri (; September 27, 1909 – January 25, 2007) was an Iraqi academic. He was founder of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Middle Eastern Studies, Middle East Studies program, a division of Johns Hopkins Uni ...

to be the dean of Faculty of Literature, and committed to pay his salary. A royal decree was issued on 15 December 1955 for the founding of the university. The first faculty to be formed was the Faculty of Literature in

, and the royal palace "Al Manar", from which King Idris I of Libya declared the country's independence on 24 December 1951, was assigned to be the campus.

Expansion

The next step was of course to extend the university and establish new faculties:Mohammed Faraj Dghaim, p. 107. *Faculty of Science, Tripoli, 1956. *Faculty of Economics,

, 1957. *Faculty of Law,

, 1962. *Faculty of Agriculture, Tripoli, 1966. *Faculty of Medicine,

, 1970. On 6 October 1968, a celebration was held for the founding of a new campus in Garyounis district of

. The celebration was attended by

King Idris I Idris (, Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi; 13 March 1890 – 25 May 1983) was King of Libya from 24 December 1951 until his ousting in the 1 September 1969 coup d'état. He ruled over the United Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 196 ...

, Wanis al-Qaddafi, the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, and Abdel Moula Dughman, President of the university.

Split

In August 1973 the university split to form two new universities:Garyounis University: Nashra Ihsa'iya *the Tripoli Campus formed the University of Tripoli; and After 7 April 1976 the two new universities were renamed as follows: *the

became Al Fateh University; and *the University of Benghazi became Garyounis University.

Presidents

A list of presidents of the University of Libya: *Mahmud El Bishti (1956–1958) *Abdel Jawad el Freitees (1958–1961) *Bakry Gaddura (1961–1963) *Mutapha Bayo (1963–1967) *Abdel Moula Dughman (1967–1969) *Omar et Tumi esh Sheibani (1969–1973)

Notes

References

*Mohammed Faraj Dghaim, "Al Jami'a Al Libiya fi Eidi'a Al Khamseen: Safha Mushriqa fi tarikh Libia", Al Jamei Magazine, No.10, Al-fateh 2005, Al Fateh University. * Cyrene (Quryna), a bulletin issued by U.of Libya because of founding the new campus at 6 Oct. 1968. *Garyounis University – Idarat Ash Shu'un at Tullabiya, "Nashra Ihsa'iya bi Adad al Khirijeen munthu ta'sees al Jame'a hatta amm 1982".

External links

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History of Tripoli, Libya History of Benghazi Universities and colleges disestablished in the 20th century Universities and colleges established in 1955 Educational institutions disestablished in 1973 1955 establishments in Libya 1973 disestablishments in Libya