Editing History of Libya (section)

==Arab Republic and ''Jamahiriya''==
{{main|History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi}}
{{anchor|Great Socialist People's Arab Jamahiriya}}{{anchor|Libyan Jamahiriya}}{{anchor|Libyan Arab Jamahiriya}}
{{See also|Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya}}
On 1 September 1969, a small group of military officers led by 27-year-old army officer [[Muammar Gaddafi]] staged a coup d'état against King Idris, launching the [[The Green Book (Muammar Gaddafi)|Libyan 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> Gaddafi was referred to as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official Libyan press.<ref>US Department of State's Background Notes, (November 2005) [https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm "Libya – History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604185313/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm |date=4 June 2019 }}, ''U.S. Dept. of State''. Retrieved 14 July 2006.</ref>

[[File:Muammar al-Gaddafi at the AU summit.jpg|thumb|left|[[Muammar Gaddafi]], former leader of Libya, in 2009.]]
On the birthday of [[Muhammad]] in 1973, Gaddafi delivered a "Five-Point Address". He announced the suspension of all existing laws and the implementation of [[Sharia]]. He said that the country would be purged of the "politically sick". A "people's militia" would "protect the revolution". There would be an administrative revolution, and a cultural revolution. Gaddafi set up an [[Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya|extensive surveillance system]]. 10 to 20 percent of Libyans worked in surveillance for the Revolutionary committees, which monitored activities in government, in factories, and in the education sector.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami">{{cite journal|url=http://www.meforum.org/878/libya-and-the-us-qadhafi-unrepentant|title=Libiya and the U.S.: Qadhafi Unrepentant|journal=The Middle East Quarterly|author=Mohamed Eljahmi|year=2006|access-date=4 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125172427/http://www.meforum.org/878/libya-and-the-us-qadhafi-unrepentant|archive-date=25 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Gaddafi executed dissidents publicly and the executions were often rebroadcast on state television channels.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Qaddafi, terrorism, and the origins of the U.S. attack on Libya.|author=Brian Lee Davis}}</ref> Gaddafi employed his network of diplomats and recruits to assassinate dozens of critical refugees around the world. [[Amnesty International]] listed at least 25 assassinations between 1980 and 1987.<ref name="Mohamed Eljhami" /><ref>The Middle East and North Africa 2003 (2002). Eur. p. 758</ref>

[[File:Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg|thumb|Flag of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (lasting from 1977 to 2011), the national anthem of which was [[Allahu Akbar (anthem)|"الله أكبر"]] ({{lit|God is Great}})]]
In 1977, Libya officially became the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya". 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|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|url-status=live}}</ref> but domestic and international critics claimed the reforms gave him virtually unlimited power. Dissidents against the new system were not tolerated, with punitive actions including capital punishment authorized by Gaddafi himself.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.meforum.org/878/libya-and-the-us-qadhafi-unrepentant|journal=Middle East Quarterly|title=Libya and the U.S.: Qadhafi Unrepentant|first=Mohamed|last=Eljahmi|year=2006|access-date=4 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125172427/http://www.meforum.org/878/libya-and-the-us-qadhafi-unrepentant|archive-date=25 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The new "''jamahiriya''" governance structure he established was officially referred to as a form of [[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> though the government refused to publish election results.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.europeanforum.net/country/libya#elections_and_political_situation_nbsp|work=European Forum|title=Libya country update|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518094049/http://www.europeanforum.net/country/libya#elections_and_political_situation_nbsp|archive-date=18 May 2011}}</ref> Later that same year, Libya and [[Egypt]] fought a four-day border war that came to be known as the [[Libyan-Egyptian War]], both nations agreed to a [[ceasefire]] under the mediation of the Algerian president [[Houari Boumediène]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/lay/libya/flibyaegypt1977.htm |title=Egypt Libya War 1977 |publisher=Onwar.com |access-date=2012-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324085920/http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/lay/libya/flibyaegypt1977.htm |archive-date=24 March 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 1977, Libya began to provide military supplies to [[Goukouni Oueddei]] and the [[People's Armed Forces]] in Chad. The [[Chadian–Libyan conflict]] began in earnest when Libya's support of rebel forces in northern Chad escalated into an [[Toyota war|invasion]]. Much of the country's income from oil, which soared in the 1970s, was spent on arms purchases and on sponsoring dozens of rebels 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 |access-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307152055/http://www.economist.com/node/18239888 |archive-date=7 March 2011 |url-status=live }}</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|access-date=4 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110511121558/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Libyan+terrorism:+the+case+against+Gaddafi.-a014151801|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> An airstrike failed to kill Gaddafi in 1986. Libya was accused in the 1988 bombing of [[Pan Am Flight 103]] over [[Lockerbie]], [[Scotland]] and the 1989 bombing of [[UTA Flight 772]] over [[Chad]] and [[Niger]]; Libya was finally put under United Nations sanctions in 1992. 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 |title=A Rogue Returns |publisher=AIJAC |date=February 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511102656/http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2003/282/Libya-return.html |archive-date=11 May 2011 }}</ref>

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|publisher=NationMaster|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|url-status=dead}}</ref> while the [[Human Development Index]] became the highest in Africa and greater than that of [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="dailynews">{{cite web|last=Azad|first=Sher|title=Gaddafi and the media|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/10/22/fea02.asp|work=Daily News|access-date=22 October 2011|date=22 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114040614/http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/10/22/fea02.asp|archive-date=14 November 2012}}</ref> This was achieved without borrowing any foreign loans, keeping Libya [[List of sovereign states by public debt|debt-free]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Zimbabwe: Reason Wafavarova – Reverence for Hatred of Democracy|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201107210928.html|publisher=[[AllAfrica.com]]|access-date=23 October 2011|date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107010212/http://allafrica.com/stories/201107210928.html|archive-date=7 November 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, the country's [[literacy]] rate rose from 10% to 90%, life expectancy rose from 57 to 77 years, [[Labour rights|employment opportunities]] were established for migrant workers, and welfare systems were introduced that allowed access to free education, free healthcare, and financial assistance for housing. 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|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|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Gaddafi doubled the minimum wage, introduced statutory price controls, and implemented compulsory rent reductions of between 30 and 40%. Gaddafi also wanted to combat the strict social restrictions that had been imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing the [[Revolutionary Women's Formation]] to encourage reform. In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and insisting on wage parity. In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a [[Libyan General Women's Federation]]. In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of any females under the age of sixteen and ensuring that a woman's consent was a necessary prerequisite for a marriage.<ref>Bearman, Jonathan (1986). Qadhafi's Libya. London: Zed Books</ref>

Gaddafi assumed the honorific title of "King of Kings of Africa" in 2008 as part of his campaign for a [[United States of Africa]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7588033.stm |title=Gaddafi: Africa's 'king of kings' |work=BBC News |date=29 August 2008 |access-date=27 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630101640/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7588033.stm |archive-date=30 June 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> By the early 2010s, in addition to attempting to assume a leadership role in the [[African Union]], Libya was also viewed as having formed closer ties with [[Italy]], one of its former colonial rulers, than any other country in the [[European Union]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,747745,00.html |work=Der Spiegel |title=Kissing the Hand of the Dictator: What Libya's Troubles Mean for Its Italian Allies |first=Hans-Jürgen |last=Schlamp |date=25 February 2011 |access-date=27 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228020939/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,747745,00.html |archive-date=28 February 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The eastern parts of the country have been "ruined" due to Gaddafi's economic theories, according to ''[[The Economist]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/18290470 |title=A civil war beckons |date=3 March 2011 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220233049/http://www.economist.com/node/18290470 |archive-date=20 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/18239900 |title=The liberated east – Building a new Libya |date=24 February 2011 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227092930/http://www.economist.com/node/18239900 |archive-date=27 February 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>