Libya country profile

Overview

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

A former Roman colony, Libya is a mostly desert country which saw invasions by Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks and more recently Italians before gaining independence in 1951.

AT-A-GLANCE Politics:Colonel Gaddafi took power in a 1969 coup; he faces an uprising which has drawn in a Nato-led coalition with a UN mandate to protect civilians. Economy: Libya has large reserves of oil and gas; proposed reform of state-run economy has met with political opposition International: Libya returned to the diplomatic fold after renouncing weapons of mass destruction and paying compensation for the Lockerbie bombing Timeline

Oil was discovered in 1959 and made the state wealthy. Ten years later, King Idris was overthrown in a coup led by the 27-year-old Muammar Gaddafi, and Libya embarked on a radically new chapter in its history.

Colonel Gaddafi's revolution has been based largely on distinguishing his country from the world around it. Ideas put forward in his Green Book aim at an alternative to both communism and capitalism, while Islam is adhered to but with a unique slant - Libya has its own calendar based on the Prophet Muhammad's death, for example.

Colonel Gaddafi called the new system a jamahiriya, loosely translated as a "state of the masses". Power is held by various people's committees, while in practice Gaddafi rules unopposed.

Libya was blamed for the Lockerbie plane bombing, and 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.

After Britain and Libya signed a prisoner-exchange agreement in 2009, Libya requested the transfer of the convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who was freed from gaol on compassionate grounds and returned home in August.

Tripoli paid compensation to the US victims of the bombing in 2008, opening up the possibility of full diplomatic relations with the United States.

Libya possesses considerable reserves of oil and gas, but the sector remains relatively undeveloped.

Facts

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Leaders

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Leader: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

Once regarded as a pariah by the West, Colonel Gaddafi began his return to the international fold after Libya settled the Lockerbie bombing claims and agreed to stop developing weapons of mass destruction.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi seized power in 1969

Western politicians, including the British, Italian, French and German leaders, have since visited Tripoli.

Muammar Gaddafi is the Arab world's longest-serving leader. A shrewd operator, he survived several attempts on his life and reinvented Libya's system of government.

The colonel came to power in a bloodless coup in 1969 against the ailing King Idris. He was inspired by the Egyptian nationalist leader Gamal Abdul Nasser, who dominated Arab politics in the 1950s and 1960s.

Though Col Gaddafi has always presented himself as an Arab nationalist, his attempts to forge unity with other Arab states have 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.

Over the years Col Gaddafi has supported 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.

One of Col Gaddafi's sons, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, is seen as having played a large part in the rehabilitation of the Libyan regime in the eyes of the international community. However, his credibility as the "acceptable" face of the Libyan leadership was somewhat tarnished after unrest broke out in February 2011 and he became an apologist for his father.

Muammar Gaddafi was born in the desert near Sirte in 1942. He married twice and has eight children.

Media

• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

The state strictly controls the media. The Libyan Jamahiriyah Broadcasting Corporation is the state broadcaster. Pan-Arab satellite TVs are widely watched. Most Libyan newspapers are either directly or indirectly owned by the government.

The uprising that began in February 2011 saw the emergence of media outlets affiliated with opponents of Colonel Gaddafi. They include radio stations in areas wrested from the regime's control, and Libya TV - a Qatar-based satellite station. The rebels run a number of newspapers and websites.

There were nearly 354,000 internet users by June 2010 (Internetworldstats). Web filtering is selective, focusing on political opposition websites. Social media have served as a battleground for supporters and foes of the regime.

The press

• Al-Fajr al-Jadid - controlled by an arm of the information ministry
• Al-Shams - controlled by an arm of the information ministry
• Al-Jamahiriyah - controlled by an arm of the information ministry
• The Tripoli Post - English-language pro-government weekly
• Birniq - Benghazi-based opposition newspaper

Television

• Great Jamahiriyah TV - state-run, available terrestrially and via satellite
• Al-Libiyah - via satellite
• Libya TV - Qatar-based opposition satellite station

Radio

• Great Jamahiriyah Radio - state-run
• Voice of Africa - state-run external service
• Al-Libiyah FM
• Voice of Free Libya - rebel radio

News agency

• Jana (Jamahiriyah News Agency) - state-run

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version