Editing Libya (section)

=== Republic of Libya under Gaddafi (1969–2011) ===
{{Main|History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi}}
On 1 September 1969, a group of rebel military officers led by [[Muammar Gaddafi]] launched a [[1969 Libyan coup d'état|coup d'état against King Idris]], which became known as the Al Fateh Revolution.<ref name="SalakLibya">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0504/excerpt1.html |title=Rediscovering Libya |last=Salak |first=Kira |publisher=National Geographic Adventure |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923175457/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0504/excerpt1.html |archive-date=23 September 2011 }}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Gaddafi was referred to as the "[[Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution|Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution]]" in government statements and the official Libyan press.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm |title=Libya – History |publisher=US Department of State's Background Notes |date=15 January 2013 |access-date=5 February 2013 |archive-date=4 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604185313/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":6" /> He began dominating history and politics of Libya for the next four decades.<ref name=":6" /> Moving to reduce Italian influence, in October 1970 all Italian-owned assets were expropriated and the 12,000-strong [[Italian settlers in Libya|Italian community]] was [[1970 expulsion of Italians from Libya|expelled]] from Libya alongside the smaller community of [[History of the Jews in Libya|Italian Libyan Jews]].<ref name=":6" /> The day became a [[Public holiday|national holiday]] known as "[[Day of Revenge]]";<ref name=":6">Bearman, Jonathan (1986). Qadhafi's Libya. London: Zed Books. p. 72</ref> it was later renamed the "Day of Friendship" because of improvement in [[Italy–Libya relations]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zoubir |first1=Yahia H. |title=Libya and Europe: Economic Realism at the Rescue of the Qaddafi Authoritarian Regime |journal=Journal of Contemporary European Studies |date=2009 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=401–415 [403, 411] |doi=10.1080/14782800903339354|s2cid=153625134 }}</ref>
[[File:Gaddafi 1972.jpg|left|thumb|246x246px|[[Muammar Gaddafi]], leader of Libya ({{reign|1969|2011}})]]
Libya's increase in prosperity was accompanied by increased internal political repression, and political dissent was made illegal under Law 75 of 1973.<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> Widespread surveillance of the population was carried out through Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees.<ref name="Gaddafiunrepentant">{{cite journal|url=http://www.meforum.org/878/libya-and-the-us-Gaddafi-unrepentant|title=Libya and the U.S.: Gaddafi Unrepentant|journal=[[Middle East Quarterly]]|author=Eljahmi, Mohamed|year=2006|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110302065908/http://www.meforum.org/878/libya-and-the-us-Gaddafi-unrepentant|archive-date=2 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="GlobalEdge">{{cite web| url=http://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/libya/history/| title=Libya: History| publisher=/globaledge.msu.edu (via [[Michigan State University]])| access-date=14 August 2011| url-status=live| archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110814125349/http://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/libya/history/| archive-date=14 August 2011| df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/rwinslow/africa/libya.html|title=Comparative Criminology&nbsp;– Libya|access-date=24 July 2011|publisher=Crime and Society|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807181001/http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/rwinslow/africa/libya.html|archive-date=7 August 2011}}</ref> Gaddafi also wanted to ease the strict social restrictions imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing the [[Revolutionary Women's Formation]] to encourage reform.<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and wage parity.<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a Libyan General Women's Federation.<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of girls under the age of sixteen and making the woman's consent a necessary prerequisite for a marriage.<ref>Bearman, Jonathan (1986). Qadhafi's Libya. London: Zed Books</ref>

On 25 October 1975, a coup attempt was launched by a group of 20 military officers, mostly from the city of [[Misrata]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1wzPrqBI8kC&pg=PA69|title=La Libye révolutionnaire|last=Banégas|first=Richard|date=1 January 2012|publisher=KARTHALA Editions|isbn=9782811106720|page=69|language=fr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320153024/https://books.google.com/books?id=n1wzPrqBI8kC&pg=PA69|archive-date=20 March 2018}}</ref> This resulted in the arrest and executions of the coup plotters.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wd30pXJxpYC&pg=PA506|title=The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World|last=Krieger|first=Joel|date=2 August 2001|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=9780195117394|page=506|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629195326/http://books.google.com/books?id=2wd30pXJxpYC|archive-date=29 June 2014}}</ref> In March 1977, Libya officially became the "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya".<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> Gaddafi officially passed power to the [[General People's Committee]]s and henceforth claimed to be no more than a symbolic figurehead.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wynne-Jones|first=Jonathan|title=Libyan minister claims Gaddafi is powerless and the ceasefire is 'solid'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8393285/Libyan-minister-claims-Gaddafi-is-powerless-and-the-ceasefire-is-solid.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=22 October 2011|date=19 March 2011|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029122048/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8393285/Libyan-minister-claims-Gaddafi-is-powerless-and-the-ceasefire-is-solid.html|archive-date=29 October 2011}}</ref><ref name="GlobalEdge" /> The new ''jamahiriya'' (Arab for "republic") governance structure he established was officially referred to as "[[direct democracy]]".<ref>{{cite news|last=Robbins|first=James|title=Eyewitness: Dialogue in the desert|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6425873.stm|access-date=22 October 2011|date=7 March 2007|work=BBC News}}</ref> Gaddafi, in his vision of democratic government and [[political philosophy]], published ''[[The Green Book (Gaddafi)|The Green Book]]'' in 1975. His short book inscribed a representative mix of utopian socialism and Arab nationalism with a streak of [[Bedouin]] supremacy.[[File:F-4J of VF-74 with Libyan MiG-23 over Gulf of Sidra 1981.jpg|thumb|F-4J of VF-74 with Libyan MiG-23 over Gulf of Sidra in 1981]]In February 1977, Libya started delivering military supplies to [[Goukouni Oueddei]] and the [[People's Armed Forces]] in Chad.<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> The [[Chadian–Libyan War]] began in earnest when Libya's support of rebel forces in northern Chad escalated into an [[Toyota war|invasion]].<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> Later that same year, Libya and [[Egypt]] fought a four-day border war that came to be known as the [[Egyptian–Libyan War]].<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> Both nations agreed to a [[ceasefire]] under the mediation of the Algerian president [[Houari Boumédiène]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/lay/libya/flibyaegypt1977.htm |title=Egypt Libya War 1977 |publisher=Onwar.com |access-date=23 December 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324085920/http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/lay/libya/flibyaegypt1977.htm |archive-date=24 March 2012  }}</ref> Hundreds of Libyans lost their lives in the country's support for [[Idi Amin]]'s [[Uganda]] in its [[Uganda–Tanzania War|war against Tanzania]].<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> Gaddafi financed various other groups from anti-nuclear movements to Australian trade unions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2003/282/Libya-return.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030301031212/http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2003/282/Libya-return.html |archive-date=1 March 2003 |title=A Rogue Returns |publisher=AIJAC |date=February 2003}}</ref> On 2 March 1977, Libya officially became Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.<ref>{{cite web |title=ICL - Libya - Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People |url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/ly01000_.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201125/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/ly01000_.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=16 May 2016}}</ref>

Libya adopted its plain green national flag on 19 November 1977.<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> The country had the only plain-coloured flag in the world until 2011, when Libya adopted its current flag.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} From 1977 onward, per capita income in the country rose to more than US$11,000, the fifth-highest in Africa,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_afr_cou_by_gdp_per_cap_gdp_per_cap-african-countries-gdp-per-capita|title=African Countries by GDP Per Capita > GDP Per Capita (most recent) by Country|access-date=24 July 2011|website=nationmaster.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716042352/http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_afr_cou_by_gdp_per_cap_gdp_per_cap-african-countries-gdp-per-capita|archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref> while the [[Human Development Index]] became the highest in Africa and greater than that of [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="dailynews">{{cite news|last=Azad |first=Sher |title=Gaddafi and the media |url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/10/22/fea02.asp |work=Daily News |location=Colombo |access-date=22 October 2011 |date=22 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025194842/http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/10/22/fea02.asp |archive-date=25 October 2011 }}</ref> This was achieved without borrowing any foreign loans, keeping Libya [[List of sovereign states by public debt|debt-free]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Zimbabwe: Reason Wafavarova – Reverence for Hatred of Democracy |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201107210928.html |newspaper=The Herald |location=Harare |access-date=23 October 2011 |date=21 July 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107010212/http://allafrica.com/stories/201107210928.html |archive-date=7 November 2011  }}</ref> The [[Great Manmade River]] was also built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.<ref name="dailynews" /> In addition, financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programs.<ref>{{cite web|last=Shimatsu|first=Yoichi|title=Villain or Hero? Desert Lion Perishes, Leaving West Explosive Legacy|url=http://newamericamedia.org/2011/10/villain-or-hero-desert-lion-perishes-leaving-the-west-explosive-legacy.php|publisher=[[New America Media]]|access-date=23 October 2011|date=21 October 2011|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022231158/http://newamericamedia.org/2011/10/villain-or-hero-desert-lion-perishes-leaving-the-west-explosive-legacy.php|archive-date=22 October 2011}}</ref> Much of Libya's income from oil, which soared in the 1970s, was spent on arms purchases and on sponsoring dozens of paramilitaries and terrorist groups around the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/18239888 |title=Endgame in Tripoli |date=24 February 2011 |newspaper=The Economist |location=London |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307152055/http://www.economist.com/node/18239888 |archive-date=7 March 2011  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Libya: the struggle for survival|author=Geoffrey Leslie Simons|author-link=Geoff Simons|page=281}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=St. John |first=Ronald Bruce |title=Libyan terrorism: the case against Gaddafi |journal=Contemporary Review |date=1 December 1992 |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Libyan+terrorism:+the+case+against+Gaddafi.-a014151801 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110511121558/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Libyan+terrorism:+the+case+against+Gaddafi.-a014151801 |archive-date=11 May 2011  }}</ref>

An [[1986 United States bombing of Libya|American airstrike]] led by then US president [[Ronald Reagan]] intended to kill Gaddafi failed in 1986.<ref name="GlobalEdge" /> Libya was finally put under sanctions by the United Nations after the [[Lockerbie bombing|bombing]] of a commercial flight at [[Lockerbie]] in 1988 killed 270 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://terrorism.about.com/od/originshistory/p/PanAmBombing.htm |title=Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing – 1988 Lockerbie Bombing Led to Libyan Convictions |publisher=Terrorism.about.com |access-date=8 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402075740/http://terrorism.about.com/od/originshistory/p/PanAmBombing.htm |archive-date=2 April 2012  }}</ref> In the 1990s, the government's rule was threatened by militant Islamism and an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Gaddafi.<ref name="Martínez 2007 71">
* {{cite book |last=Martínez |first=Luis |title=The Libyan Paradox |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-231-70021-4 |page=71}}
* {{cite book |last=Cordesman |first=Anthony H. |title=A Tragedy of Arms&nbsp;– Military and Security Developments in the Maghreb |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-275-96936-3 |page=2}}</ref> The government responded with repressive measures.<ref name="Martínez 2007 71"/> Riots and Islamic activisim were crushed by [[Revolutionary Guard Corps]].<ref name="Martínez 2007 71"/> Nevertheless, [[Cyrenaica]] between 1995 and 1998 was politically unstable, due to the tribal allegiances of the local troops.<ref name="Martínez 2007 71"/> In 2003, Gaddafi announced that all of his regime's [[Libya and weapons of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] were disassembled, and that Libya was transitioning toward [[nuclear power]].<ref name="GlobalEdge" />