Libyan Arab Republic
Libya, 1969–1977. Draft, not yet reviewed
Muammar Gaddafi became the de facto leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. When Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, the Revolutionary Command Council headed by Gaddafi abolished the monarchy and the constitution and established the Libyan Arab Republic. After coming to power, with the 1973 oil crisis and consequential rise of the Libyan economy, the RCC government initiated a process of directing funds toward providing education, health care and housing for all. From its founding in 1969 to 1977, the name was the Libyan Arab Republic.
Seat of power: Tripoli
Rulers
Muammar Gaddafi
Prime Minister of Libya, 1970–1972
Gaddafi converted Libya into a republic governed by his Revolutionary Command Council. Ruling by decree, he deported Libya's Italian population and ejected its Western military bases. He nationalized the oil industry and used the increasing state revenues to bolster the military, fund foreign revolutionaries, and implement social programs emphasizing housebuilding, healthcare and education projects.
Portrait of Muammar Gaddafi: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt/Released, Public domain, file
Culture
- Public education in the country became free and primary education compulsory for both sexes.
- Under Gaddafi, per capita income in the country rose to more than US$11,000 in nominal terms, and to over US$30,000 in PPP terms, the 5th highest in Africa.
- The increase in prosperity was accompanied by a foreign policy hostile to the other Arab states of the region, an anti-West foreign policy, and increased domestic political repression. Gaddafi ruled the country in an authoritarian manner and was described as a dictator.
Picture
Bab al-Azizia was a military barracks and compound in the southern suburbs of Tripoli, and served as the main base for the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi until its capture by anti-Gaddafi forces on 23 August 2011.
Image: Stefan Krasowski, CC BY 2.0, file
Sources
- History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi (Wikipedia)
- Libyan Arab Republic (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.