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0521850487 - A History of Modern Libya

Dirk Vandewalle
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A HISTORY OF MODERN LIBYA

Libya is coming in from the cold, but for most of the three decades
following Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi’s self-styled revolution in 1969, the
country was politically isolated and labeled a pariah state by the
West. Dirk Vandewalle, who was one of only a handful of western
scholars to visit the country during this time, is intimately ac-
quainted with the country. This history – based on original research
and interviews with Libya’s political elite – offers a lucid and com-
prehensive account of Libya’s past, and corrects some of the misun-
derstandings about its present. Vandewalle begins in the 1900s with a
portrait of Libya’s desert terrain, its peoples, and the personalities
that shaped its development. He then moves on to the harrowing
years of the Italian occupation in the early twentieth century,
through the Sanusi monarchy and, thereafter, to the revolution of
1969. The following chapters analyze the economics and politics of
Qadhafi’s self-styled revolution, with some intriguing insights into
the man and his ideology as reflected in The Green Book. The final
chapter is devoted to the most recent events that brought Libya back
into the international fold and concludes with some likely scenarios
for its future. As the first comprehensive history of Libya in over
twenty years, this book will be welcomed by scholars and students of
North Africa, the Middle East, and by those who are visiting and
doing business in the region for the first time.

d i r k v a n d e w a l l e is Associate Professor of Government at

Dartmouth College. He is the author of Libya Since Independence:
Oil and State-building (1998), and the editor of Qadhafi’s Libya,
1969–1994 (1995).

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A HISTORY OF
MODERN LIBYA

DIRK VANDEWALLE
Dartmouth College

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Contents

List of illustrations page vii

List of maps viii
Preface ix
Chronology, 1900–2005 xi
List of acronyms xxviii

Introduction: Libya, the enigmatic oil state 1

1 “A tract which is wholly sand . . .” (Herodotus) 11
Libya’s geography 14
The Ottoman period and the Sanusiyya 16
European intrusions and the Young Turk revolt 20
The Ottoman legacy 22

2 Italy’s Fourth Shore and decolonization, 1911–1950 24

The Italian occupation, 1911–1923 24
Fascism and the Italian settler colony 30
World War II, Italy’s defeat, and the Great Power deliberations 34
Legacies at the eve of independence 40

3 The Sanusi monarchy as accidental state, 1951–1969 43

Politics of avoidance: the reluctant monarchy 46
The development challenges of the first decade 51
The Libyan oil industry 53
The unification of the kingdom 61
The social impact of oil and the early seeds of revolution 69
The monarchy in perspective 73

4 A Libyan sandstorm: from monarchy to republic, 1969–1973 77

Libya’s young revolutionaries 79
Popular revolution, participation, and legitimacy 83
Charisma and rhetoric as mobilizational tools 86
Oil and economic management 89
The revolution on the eve of the 1973 oil crisis 94

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vi Contents
5 The Green Book’s stateless society, 1973–1986 97
Revolutionaries, technocrats, and The Green Book as political primer 100
The Green Book ’s economic and social directives 106
Oil and development 109
The revolutionary society 119
Symbols, myths, Islam, and opposition 124
Terrorism, adventurism, and confrontation with the West 130
The revolutionary decade revisited 136

6 The limits of the revolution, 1986–2000 139

Curtailing revolutionary energy 141
The Great Green Charter of Human Rights 144
Protecting the regime: formal and informal means of power and control 145
The economic sanctions and their impact 152
Economic sanctions and oil policies 158
Attempts at economic reform 161
The lessons of failed reforms 166
Confrontation, terrorism, and sanctions 169
The revolution curtailed 172

7 Fork in the road: Libya in the twenty-first century 175

The road to disarmament 179
The West and Libya: diplomacy and reform 184
Political economy of reform 189
From Arab socialism to pan-African unity 193
Libya in the twenty-first century and the shadow of the past 196

Notes 207
Bibliography 218
Index 226

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Illustrations

1 Omar al-Mukhtar. © Centre for Libyan Studies, Oxford page 31

2 Benito Mussolini in Libya in 1937. © Bettmann/CORBIS 35
3 Proclamation of the creation of the United Kingdom of
Libya at al-Manar Palace in Benghazi. © Centre for
Libyan Studies, Oxford 43
4 Richard Nixon in Libya. © Centre for Libyan Studies,
Oxford 74
5 Qadhafi, Arafat, Nasser, and Hussein Nasser, 1970.
© Bettmann/CORBIS 77
6 Lockerbie bombing. © Bryn Colton / Assignments
Photographers / CORBIS 171
7 Tripoli, Libyan Arab Jamahiriyya. © AFP / Getty Images 181
8 Female soldier during the 34th anniversary of the
revolution in September 2003. © AFP / Getty Images 200

vii

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Maps

1 General map of Libya page 13

2 Ethnic and tribal map of Libya 25
3 Economic activity 98

viii

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Preface

This book is the result of almost two decades of observing and writing
about Libya. In the process, countless individuals in a number of coun-
tries have talked to me and corresponded with me about Libya. Many
of them I have acknowledged earlier in my Libya Since Independence.
Since then, however, I have incurred additional debts to a number of
others who kindly provided additional help and insights since the late
1990s. In no particular order, they include Dr. Saleh Ibrahim and Milad
Saad Milad at the Academy of Higher Education in Tripoli; Ms. Salma
al-Gaeer of the Academy of Higher Education and the Green Book
Center; Youssef Sawani of the Green Book Center; Zahi Mogherbi of
Gar Yunis University; Muhammad Siala, Secretary for International
Cooperation; Mehdi Emberish, Secretary of Culture; Ahmed Jalala of
the Academy of Graduate Studies; Engineer Jadalla al-Talhi, former
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Jamahiriyya; Abu
Zayed Dorda, former Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy; Saif
al-Islam al-Qadhafi; Salem al-Maiar and Tony Allan of the School of
Oriental and African Studies in London; Ethan Chorin of the United
States Liaison Office in Tripoli; Tarik Yousef of Georgetown University;
David Mack at the Middle East Institute in Washington; Moncef Djaziri
at the University of Geneva; and Saad al-Ghariani of the Academy of
Higher Education in Tripoli.
A very special thanks to Rosemary Hollis of the Royal Institute of Inter-
national Affairs in London. My gratitude as well to Robert Springborg,
and Arnold Luethold who organized two conferences at, respectively,
the London Middle East Centre (at the School of Oriental and African
Studies), and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed
Forces. Last but not least, my gratitude to Mustafa Ben Halim, Prime
Minister of Libya during the monarchy, who agreed to meet in London
in order to shed light on the tumultuous developments that took place
during his tenure in office. A sabbatical leave from Dartmouth College

ix

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x Preface
allowed me to finish the manuscript. Marigold Acland and two anonym-
ous readers for Cambridge University Press provided insightful and
thoughtful comments as the manuscript progressed.
Transliterations from the Arabic in this book use the classical Arabic
spelling except where any attempt to do so would render names unintelli-
gible to some readers – hence Tripoli rather than Tarabulus. For the
transliteration of place names I have relied on Gazetteer No. 41 – Libya
( June 1958) published by the United States Board on Geographic Names.
The ta marbuta, however, when not in construct state, is rendered a and
not ah as in the Gazetteer: Zuwara rather than Zuwarah. Arabic words
familiar to a western audience – such as ulama and sharia – are written
without diacritical marks. Unless in quotations from original sources –
that, for example, render Jaghbub as Giarbub or Giarabub in official
Italian documents – I have chosen to adopt the spelling used by the
Gazetteer, with the caveat noted above.
The General People’s Congress and Committee system (Libya’s
equivalent of a Parliament and a Cabinet) uses a complex and confusing
set of designations for its institutions and for those who represent it. The
Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Foreign Affairs is simply
“the Foreign Minister” or “the Secretary of Foreign Affairs” in this book.
The General Secretariat of the People’s Bureau for Planning is simply “the
Ministry of Planning.”
A final note on sources: the literature on Libya is by now enormous,
and of widely varying quality. In order to provide some guidance, and to
keep the text manageable and accessible, readers will find in the bibliog-
raphy and in the endnotes to each chapter references to some of what are,
in my estimation, the most important works on Libya’s modern history.
Most, except for references to newspaper articles and Libyan documents,
and excluding a handful of French sources, are in English. A more
exhaustive bibliography, as well as references to additional Arabic sources,
can be found in my Libya Since Independence and in specialized bibliog-
raphies of Libya. Just before going to press, the Centre for Libyan Studies
in Oxford graciously provided me with the first three (of a projected
eight) volumes of Libya Between The Past and the Present (in Arabic) by
Dr. Muhammad Mugharyif [Mohamed Yousef Al-Magariaf ]. They pro-
vide an extremely valuable overview of Libyan history, and include
a collection of historical documents as well as previously unavailable
pictures – some of which were provided, courtesy of the Centre for
Libyan Studies, for this book. My sincere thanks to Youssef El-Megreisi
for making them available.

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Chronology, 1900–2005

the ottoman and italian period

1517 The Ottoman Empire occupies Cyrenaica.
1551 The Ottoman Empire occupies Tripoli.
1711 Ahmed Bey Qaramanli, the Ottoman governor
of Tripoli, establishes the Qaramanli dynasty.
1803 The Philiadelphia, a United States frigate, is
captured off Tripoli harbor.
1835 End of the Qaramanli dynasty; the Ottoman
Empire re-occupies Tripolitania, Fazzan and
Cyrenaica during three campaigns of conquest.
1843 Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab al-Sanusi, founder
of the Sanusiyya establishes his headquarters in
Cyrenaica.
1843 The Ottomans occupy Ghadames.
1855 The Sanusiyya moves its headquarters to
Jaghbub.
1859 Muhammad al-Sanusi dies in Jaghbub.
1890 Anglo-French convention delineates British
and Ottoman spheres of influence in North
Africa.
1895 The Sanusiyya moves its headquarters to Kufra.
1902 Ahmad al-Shariff al-Sanusi becomes head of the
Sanusiyya.
1908 The Young Turk revolt takes place in
Constantinople, briefly raising hopes for
political independence in Tripolitania.
1910 A French–Ottoman agreement settles the
borders between Tripolitania, Algeria, and
Tunisia.

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xii Chronology, 1900–2005

26 September 1911 Italy sends the Ottoman sultan an ultimatum,
announcing its intent to occupy Tripolitania
and Cyrenaica.
5 November 1911 Italy announces the annexation of Tripolitania
and Cyrenaica and does so formally on 25
February 1912.
October 1912 The Ottoman Empire and Italy sign an
ambiguous agreement at Ouchy, Italy claiming
sovereignty while Constantinople refuses to
renounce its claim.
1912 Ahmad al-Shariff assumes the leadership of
resistance against the Italians in Cyrenaica.
March 1913 Sulayman Al-Baruni, a berber leader from
Tripolitania, and his followers, are defeated at
the Battle of Asabaa by the Italians. Al-Baruni
flees to Turkey.
1913 Italian forces attempt the occupation of
Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fazzan, but make
little initial headway.
1915 The Italians suffer a defeat at the hand of
Ramadan al-Suwayhli of Misrata, at the battle of
Qasr Bu Hadi.
1915 Sulayman Al-Baruni returns from Istanbul to
Libya as Governor of Tripolitania.
1915 Ramadan al-Suwayhli and his followers form an
independent republic at Misrata.
April 1917 Sayyid Idris al-Sanusi, now head of the
Sanusiyya, signs the Akrama Agreement with
Italy, which placed virtually all of Cyrenaica
under Sanusi control.
18 October 1918 Italian–Turkish peace treaty gives Italy nominal
control over Tripolitania and Cyrenaica.
October 1918 The defeated Ottoman Empire formally signs
the Armistice agreements.
November 1918 Al-Baruni and Suwayhli formally declare
Tripolitania independent, resulting in the
creation of the Tripolitanian Republic.
1 June 1919 Italy recognizes, and issues statutes for, the
Tripolitanian Republic.

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Chronology, 1900–2005 xiii

October 1919 Separate statutes known as the Legge
Fondamentale, for Cyrenaica and Tripolitania
accepted by Italy; each province to have its own
parliament and local councils.
August 1920 Ramadan al-Suwayhli is killed in a battle with
rival tribesmen who object to the Tripolitanian
Republic.
October 1920 The al-Rajma Agreement between the
Italians and the Sanusiyya confirms Sayyid
Idris al-Sanusi as Amir of Cyrenaica.
November 1920 At the Gharyan conference Tripolitanian leaders
attempt to forge a common agenda to press
their demands vis-à-vis Italy.
28 July 1922 Representatives from the Gharyan conference
offer the Amirate of Tripolitania to Sayyid Idris
al-Sanusi.
October 1922 Benito Mussolini comes to power in Italy.
November 1922 Sayyid Idris accepts the Amirate of Tripolitania,
and is now the recognized Amir of both
Cyrenaica and Tripolitania.
December 1922 Sayyid Idris al-Sanusi leaves Cyrenaica for exile
in Cairo where he will remain until after World
War II.
1923 Umar al-Mukhtar organizes the resistance to
the Italians in Cyrenaica after Sayyid Idris’s
exile to Cairo.
11 September 1931 Umar al-Mukhtar is captured by the Italians.
16 September 1931 Umar al-Mukhtar is executed.
June 1934 The Libyan–Sudan border is agreed upon
between Great Britain and Italy.
March 1937 Mussolini visits Libya to inaugurate the
Litoranea Libica and to have himself proclaimed
Protector of Islam.
1938 Italy embarks upon grand-scale agricultural
settlements in Libya.
August 1940 During a meeting in Cairo with Libyan
exiles, Sayyid Idris al-Sanusi is authorized to
negotiate with the British after the war for
independence.

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xiv Chronology, 1900–2005

October–December Second battle of al-Alamein. As a result of the
1942 battles in Cyrenaica and western Egypt, the
Italian settlers leave Cyrenaica and the Italians
withdraw from Libya.
1943 The Allies’ expulsion of Germany and Italy
from North Africa leads to the creation of a
British Military Administration in Tripolitania
and Cyrenaica, and of a French Military
Administration in Fazzan.

libya in the aftermath of world war ii

15 February 1947 Italy formally relinquishes its sovereignty over
Libya.
6 March 1948 The Four Power Commission of Investigation
arrives in Libya, and finishes its work on 20 May.
15 September 1948 The United Nations General Assembly takes up
the matter of Libyan independence.
10 May 1949 France and Great Britain publish the Bevin-
Sforza plan, proposing ten-year trusteeships for
the Libyan provinces. A resolution in support of
the plan is defeated in the UN General Assembly.
June 1949 Cyrenaica creates an independent administration.
Tripolitania, under British administration, creates
municipal councils. Fazzan remains governed
under French Military Administration.
21 November 1949 The United Nations General Assembly passes a
resolution creating an “independent and
sovereign state” of Libya, assigning to a future
National Assembly the task creating a provisional
government of Libya.
25 November 1949 Libya’s National Assembly, consisting of sixty
selected members chosen equally from the three
provinces – Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and
Fazzan – meets in Tripoli for the first time in
order to prepare the country’s Constitution. It
declares that Libya will be a federal state.
10 December 1949 The United Nations appoints Adrian Pelt as the
UN Commissioner in Libya.

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Chronology, 1900–2005 xv
2 December 1950 Libya’s National Assembly decides to create as
soon as possible a United Kingdom of Libya and
offers Idris al-Sanusi the throne.
4 December 1950 The National Assembly creates a Committee
of the Constitution to prepare a draft
constitution.
March 1951 Provincial governments are created in
Tripolitania and Fazzan.
29 March 1951 Libya’s National Assembly creates a provisional
government.
10 September 1951 Discussions begin in the National Assembly on a
draft constitution.
7 October 1951 Libya’s Constitution is promulgated by the
National Assembly.

the libyan monarchy

24 December 1951 The United Kingdom of Libya proclaims its
independence, and is headed by King Idris
al-Sanusi.
19 February 1952 Libya holds its first general election. Political
parties are banned in its aftermath.
25 March 1952 Libya’s Parliament meets for the first time.
12 February 1953 Libya joins the Arab League.
26 July 1953 Libya signs a twenty-year military agreement with
Great Britain.
9 September 1954 Libya signs a military agreement with the United
States.
5 October 1955 Assassination of Ibrahim al-Shalhi, Councilor
to King Idris, by Al-Shariff Bin al-Sayyid Muhi
al-Din al-Sanusi, grandson of Sayyid Ahmad
al-Shariff and cousin of King Idris.
1955 Libyan Petroleum Law comes into effect, also
creating the country’s Petroleum Commission.
24 May 1957 Mustafa Bin Halim resigns as Prime Minister
1961 Amendments are added to the 1955 Libyan
Petroleum Law.
25 October 1961 Libya’s first oil shipment leaves from Marsa
al-Burayqa [Brega].

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xvi Chronology, 1900–2005

1962 Libya joins the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC).
January 1963 Re-establishment of Sanusi zuwaya (religious
lodges).
April 1963 The federal arrangement is abandoned in favor
of a unitary state.
May 1963 Libya launches its first five-year plan for economic
and social development. Creation of a Ministry of
Planning.
1963 First development plan from 1963–1968.
1965 Second set of amendments added to the
1955 Libyan Petroleum Law, followed by
the creation of the Libyan National Oil
Company.
April 1968 Creation of the Libyan Petroleum Company
(LIPETCO).
July 1968 Libya announces that it will no longer award
concession agreements, and that all future
agreements will be awarded under joint ventures
with LIPETCO.

the qadhafi period

1 September 1969 A military coup, headed by Mu’ammar
al-Qadhafi, overthrows the monarchy.
29 October 1969 The Libyan government demands the
withdrawal of all British troops and the
liquidation of its military bases.
14 November 1969 The first foreign banks and hospitals in
Libya are nationalized.
28 November 1969 First major speech by Qadhafi on why
representative democracy is unsuited to
Libya.
11 December 1969 Proclamation of the new Provisional
Constitutional Declaration.
27 December 1969 Libya, Egypt, and Sudan sign the Tripoli
Charter.
28 March 1970 British forces are requested to evacuate
Al-Adem Airbase.

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Chronology, 1900–2005 xvii

5 May 1970 First colloquium of Libyan intellectuals
and revolutionaries to debate the
revolutionary orientations of the country.
16 June 1970 The last American troops evacuate
Wheelus Airbase.
21 June 1970 Confiscation of Italian-owned properties
announced.
5 July 1970 First major laws on the nationalization of
the oil industry, initially limited to the
nationalization of the internal distribution
networks of Shell and Esso.
1 August 1970 The internal distribution networks of
the remaining oil companies are
nationalized.
28 September 1970 President Nasser of Egypt dies.
14 November 1970 Administrative reorganization: creation
of governorates (muhafadhat) and
municipalities (baladiyyat) or districts
(mudiriyyat) to break down traditional
tribal administrative boundaries.
December 1970 Nationalization of all banks.
14 January 1971 At Zawiya, Qadhafi announces the
creation of Popular Congresses.
15 January 1971 Libyan Producers’ Agreements announced.
17 April 1971 Libya, Egypt, and Syria agree to create the
Union of Arab Republics, to officially
come into effect on 1 January 1972.
5 June 1971 All foreign cultural centers, except that of
France, are closed.
12 June 1971 Creation of the Arab Socialist Union
(ASU).
15 October 1971 All Libyan insurance companies are
nationalized.
28 October 1971 Creation of a commission by the
Revolutionary Command Council to
revise the country’s legal system in
conformity with Islamic law.
7 December 1971 British Petroleum nationalized.
28 March–7 April 1972 First national ASU congress in Tripoli.
12 April 1972 Abolition of the right to strike.

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xviii Chronology, 1900–2005

30 May 1972 The ASU adopts a law making all political
activities outside the single party
punishable by death.
4 August 1972 The United States reduces its embassy staff
in Tripoli to fifteen members at Libya’s
request. The US ambassador in Tripoli
resigns.
November 1972 Qadhafi for the first time specifically
proclaims sovereignty over the Gulf of
Sirt.
16 April 1973 Qadhafi issues his Third Universal Theory
and announces the popular revolution in a
speech at Zuwara.
18 April 1973 Creation of the first popular committees.
2 June 1973 Popular committees take over the
country’s television and radio stations.
8 June 1973 Libya accuses the United States of
infringing its 100-mile “restricted air zone”
off the Mediterranean coast. Tripoli expels
a US diplomat for not having an Arabic
passport.
11 June 1973 The popular committees take over
education, agriculture, and culture in the
country.
11 August 1973 The Libyan government nationalizes 51%
of Occidental Petroleum.
1 September 1973 51% of all remaining foreign oil companies
nationalized.
6 October 1973 Start of the Ramadan / Yom Kippur War,
leading to the end of Qadhafi’s unity plans
with Egypt.
18 October 1973 The average price of Libyan crude oil
jumps from $4.604 to $9.061 per barrel.
26 October 1973 Libya embargoes oil exports to the United
States for its support of Israel.
1 January 1974 The price of Libyan crude jumps from
roughly $9 per barrel to $15.768 per barrel.
11 February 1974 Libya nationalizes three US oil companies:
Texaco, the Libyan American Oil
Company, and California Asiatic.

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Chronology, 1900–2005 xix

7 April 1974 Qadhafi resigns to devote himself to
revolutionary activities, becoming the
qa’id ath-thawra (Leader of the
Revolution), but remains head of the
armed forces. Abd as-Salam Jallud
becomes head of state.
May 1974 Jallud visits the Soviet Union and
concludes the first major Soviet–Libyan
arms agreement.
6 September 1974 Reinvigoration of the popular revolution.
1974 Libya concludes its first Exploration
and Production-Sharing Arrangements
(EPSA I).
2 March 1975 Student demonstrations against the
Qadhafi government in Benghazi.
27 April 1975 New statutes of the ASU announced.
13 August 1975 First major abortive coup against the
Qadhafi regime, led by two Revolutionary
Command Council (RCC) members.
26 August 1975 Creation of Revolutionary Courts.
3 September 1975 Three major “socialist” laws are
announced, restricting real-estate
speculation and imports of certain goods.
12 September 1975 The United States announces restrictions
on strategic equipment purchased by
Libya and restrictions on training of
Libyans in the use of certain types of
aircraft.
17 September 1975 Publication of the first of several essays in
Al-Fajr al-Jadid that will eventually
become The Green Book.
November 1975 First Basic People’s Congresses created.
5–18 January 1976 The first General People’s Congress
(GPC) convenes; the ASU is abolished.
7 April 1976 The government puts down student
demonstrations.
25 May 1976 Qadhafi announces the creation of
special committees that will intensify the
revolution. They will eventually become
the Revolutionary Committees.

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xx Chronology, 1900–2005
17 September 1976 Official publication of Democracy, the first
volume of The Green Book.
13–24 November 1976 Second meeting of the General People’s
Congress.
4 February 1977 Libya is added to the United States
Defense Department’s list of potential
enemies of the United States.
28 February 1977 Extraordinary GPC meeting at Sabha to
ratify the declaration of People’s Power.
2 March 1977 Sabha Declaration: the GPC special
congress declares Libya a Jamahiriyya – a
state managed directly by its citizens.
The Declaration on the Authority of
the People replaces the Provisional
Constitutional Declaration of
11 December 1969.
3 July 1977 Major debate between Qadhafi and the
ulama at Tripoli’s Moulay Muhammad
Mosque regarding the political and
economic role of Islam in modern societies.
21–24 July 1977 Egyptian–Libyan border clashes.
6 November 1977 Establishment of the first Revolutionary
Committee in Tripoli.
November 1977 Third GPC meeting. The second volume
of The Green Book – The Solution of the
Economic Problem – is published.
March 1978 Announcement of the elimination of
private property.
6 May 1978 Promulgation of the bayt li sakinihi policy:
“The house belongs to [those] who live
in it.”
1 September 1978 First calls for the separation of “the
instruments of the revolution” and “the
instruments of governing.”
19 December 1978 Qadhafi resigns as Secretary General of the
General People’s Congress to dedicate
himself to the intensification of the
revolution.
December 1978 Intensification of the campaign to abolish
all retail and private trading.

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Chronology, 1900–2005 xxi

2 March 1979 Remaining Revolutionary Command
Council members are relieved of their
duties. The GPC issues “The Declaration
on the Separation of Rule and
Revolution,” officially separating the
“instruments of the revolution” and the
“instruments of government.”
1 June 1979 Publication of The Social Basis of the Third
Universal Theory, the third part of The
Green Book.
1 September 1979 Libyan embassies are converted into
People’s Bureaus. Announcement of the
creation of Revolutionary Committees
within the Libyan army.
2 December 1979 Attack on the US embassy in Tripoli; the
embassy is set on fire.
29 December 1979 Libya is put on the State Department’s list
of sponsors of state terrorism.
1979 Libya concludes its second Exploration
and Production-Sharing Arrangements
(EPSA II).
3 February 1980 Qadhafi calls for the physical liquidation
of Libyan dissidents – “stray dogs” – living
abroad.
15 February 1980 The US embassy in Tripoli closes.
Spring through Fall 1980 First campaign spearheaded by the
Revolutionary Committees to eliminate
Libyan opponents – “stray dogs” –
overseas.
March 1980 Elimination of private savings accounts.
16 May 1980 26 US citizens expelled from Libya; the
United States withdraws its two remaining
diplomats.
2 September 1980 Libyan–Syrian union announced. Libya
opens itself up to all Arabs and creates
Arab passports.
6 May 1981 The United States closes the Libyan
embassy in Washington.
12 May 1981 The right to maintain private practices for
all professional occupations is abolished.

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19 August 1981 Two Libyan aircraft downed by the
United States over the Gulf of Sirt.
7 October 1981 Creation of the National Front for the
Salvation of Libya, an opposition
movement to Qadhafi.
4 November 1981 Exxon withdraws its operations from
Libya.
10 March 1982 The United States bans all exports except
food and medicine to Libya; the import of
Libyan oil into the United States is
prohibited.
13 December 1982 Qadhafi announces the replacement of
the country’s armed forces by a popular
army.
January 1983 Mobil withdraws its operations from
Libya.
June 1983 Second major Libyan invasion of Chad.
Spring 1984 New campaign against “stray dogs.”
Creation of state supermarkets.
17 April 1984 British policewoman Yvonne Fletcher is
fatally shot by Libyan security personnel
outside the Libyan embassy in London,
leading to a rupture in British–Libyan
relations.
July/September 1985 Libya expels large numbers of foreign
laborers, in an effort to help balance the
country’s budget in the wake of lowered
oil revenues.
15 November 1985 President Reagan bans the import of
all refined petroleum products from
Libya.
7 January 1986 The United States invokes the
International Emergency Economic
Powers Act, halting imports of all goods
and services of Libyan origin. US
companies are prohibited from engaging
in industrial or commercial contracts with
Libya.
5 April 1986 A bomb explodes at a discotheque in West
Berlin, killing three people.

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Chronology, 1900–2005 xxiii

15 April 1986 US aerial attack on Tripoli and Benghazi.
In its aftermath, officially organized
demonstrations in Tripoli are lackluster.
Qadhafi fails to make public addresses for
several weeks. The European Union agrees
to more restrictive visa policies for Libyan
nationals.
6 May 1986 The leaders of the G7 countries vow to
fight terrorism and single out Libya as a
major perpetrator.
30 June 1986 The US Treasury Department forces
remaining US oil companies to leave Libya
but allows them to negotiate standstill
agreements, retaining ownership for three
years while allowing the Libyan National
Oil Company to operate the fields.
February 1987 At the GPC meeting, criticism of the
country’s economic hardships paves the
way for an attempted economic and
political liberalization.
26 March 1987 Announcement of Libya’s first infitah
(economic liberalization).
23 May 1987 Qadhafi speech on industrial and
agricultural reform.
1 September 1987 Qadhafi speech at the anniversary
celebrations of the revolution, allowing the
re-introduction of a private sector.
22 November 1987 The Revolutionary Committees are
severely criticized at the thirteenth General
People’s Congress.
March 1988 Creation of the Ministry of Mass
Mobilization and Revolutionary
Orientation to limit and institutionalize
the power of the revolutionary committees.
May 1988 Curtailment of the power of the
Jamahiriyya’s revolutionary courts. They
are replaced by People’s Courts.
12 June 1988 Adoption of the Great Green Charter of
Human Rights.
21 December 1988 Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie.

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1988 Libya concludes its third Exploration
and Production Sharing Arrangements
(EPSA-III).
4 January 1989 US fighter jets down two Libyan aircraft
over the Gulf of Sirt.
1 September 1989 Libya agrees to submit the Aouzou dispute
to the International Court of Justice.
19 September 1989 French airliner UTA 772 explodes over
Niger.
15 November 1991 Libya is indicted by the United States
and Great Britain in connection with the
1988 Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am 103.
Two Libyans are charged with the
bombing.
21 January 1992 The United Nations Security Council
unanimously approves a resolution
requiring Libya to cooperate with
investigations made by the United States
and Great Britain in the Lockerbie
incident by surrendering two of its
citizens.
31 March 1992 The United Nations Security Council
passes Resolution 748, asking Libya to
turn over suspects in the Lockerbie and
UTA cases.
15 April 1992 A boycott of commercial airflights into
the Jamahiriyya, approved by the United
Nations Security Council, takes effect.
11 November 1993 UN passes Resolution 883, strengthening
existing sanctions and freezing Libyan
assets in foreign banks, as well as banning
imports of spare parts for the country’s oil
industry.
3 February 1994 The International Court of Justice assigns
the Aouzou strip to Chad, voiding Libya’s
claim to the disputed territory.
October 1994 Major rebellion by army units near Misrata
are put down by units loyal to Qadhafi.
11 November 1994 The United Nations Security Council
further extends its embargo against Libya.

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5 August 1996 The United States adopts the Iran and
Libya Sanctions Act that penalizes all firms
(including foreign ones) that invest more
than $40 million in the Libyan energy
sector.
April 1998 Libya confirms that it will allow a trial of
the Lockerbie defendants in a neutral
country, operating under Scottish law.
24 August 1998 The United States and Great Britain agree
to a trial in the Netherlands for the
Lockerbie suspects.
27 August 1998 The United Nations Security Council
passes Resolution 1192, promising to
suspend economic sanctions if Libya turns
over the Lockerbie suspects.
5 April 1999 Libya agrees to surrender the two Lockerbie
suspects for trial in the Netherlands.
11 June 1999 Libyan and US officials meet for the first
time in eighteen years to discuss the UN
sanctions.
September 1999 Libya organizes a special meeting of the
Organization of African Unity in Sirt.
25 March 2000 US State Department officials visit Libya
to assess lifting the ban on travel into
Libya.
3 May 2000 The Lockerbie trial opens.
31 January 2001 A panel of three judges finds one of the
Libyan Lockerbie defendants guilty and
acquits the other.
March 2003 The GPC adopts legislation to reform the
Libyan economy.
June 2003 Dr. Shukri Ghanem is appointed as Prime
Minister, in part to guide the economic
reform efforts.
May 2003 Libya approaches Britain and the United
States to discuss outstanding issues,
including weapons of mass destruction.
Libya makes an offer to the Lockerbie
families for a settlement that ties
compensation to the lifting of sanctions.

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August 2003 Libya and the Lockerbie victims’ families
agree on a framework for compensation
totaling $2.7 billion.
18 August 2003 Libya and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) conclude Article IV
consultations.
12 September 2003 The UN Security Council votes to lift
sanctions against Libya.
23 October 2003 The IMF issues Public Information
Notice 03/125 following the conclusion of
Article IV consultations.
19 December 2003 The Libyan government announces that
the country will abandon its pursuit of
weapons of mass destruction.
January 2004 The United States removes from Libya
equipment and documents related to the
country’s nuclear and missile programs,
and starts to destroy its chemical
munitions.
9 January 2004 Libya agrees to pay additional
compensation to the families of victims of
a French UTA airliner that exploded in
1989 over Niger.
February 2004 Muhammad Al-Baradei, Director General
of the International Atomic Energy
Agency, arrives in Tripoli for discussions
to dismantle Libya’s nuclear program.
26 February 2004 President Bush issues an executive
order that will allow American
companies to begin negotiating a return to
Libya. The order lifts the ban on travel to
Libya.
March 2004 The National People’s Congress discusses
an additional number of measures meant
to liberalize the Libyan economy.
April 2004 Qadhafi visits Brussels at the invitation
of the European Union, his first trip
outside the Middle East or Africa in fifteen
years. Prime Minister Tony Blair visits
Tripoli.

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23 April 2004 A number of US economic sanctions are
lifted, allowing trade between Libya and
the United States – except for specified
goods – to proceed.
23 May 2004 Qadhafi walks out of the Arab summit in
Tunis, arguing that its agenda is irrelevant.
June 2004 Libya and the United States re-establish
diplomatic relations.
3 September 2004 Libya signs an agreement to compensate
victims of the LaBelle discotheque
($35 million), to be paid out fully by
1 March 2005.
20 September 2004 The United States formally revokes its
trade embargo against Libya.
11 October 2004 The European Union lifts its arms
embargo against Libya.
January 2005 The Libyan National Oil Company
announces the awarding of new
exploration agreements for fifteen onshore
and offshore blocks. US companies obtain
the majority of the new exploration
licenses.
January 2005 At the Davos economic summit, Saif
al-Islam al-Qadhafi announces further
measures to liberalize the Libyan
economy.
12 January 2005 Libya abolishes its People’s Courts.
May 2005 Qadhafi convenes Sudanese representatives
in Tripoli to help find a solution to the
Darfur crisis.

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Acronyms

AAN Annuaire de l’Afrique du Nord

ASU Arab Socialist Union
BMA British Military Administration
BPC Basic People’s Congress
CYDEF Cyrenaican Defense Force
FBIS Foreign Broadcast Information Service (Near East and South
Asia) (transcription service provided by US government)
GPC General People’s Congress
IBRD International Bank of Reconstruction and Development
JR Al-Jarida Al-Rasmiyya – Libyan newspaper
LNOC Libyan National Oil Company
NFSL National Front for the Salvation of Libya
RCC Revolutionary Command Council
SQ As-Sijil Al-Qawmi bayanat wa ahadith al-aqid Mu’ammar
al-Qadhafi – collected speeches and pronouncements by
Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi
ZA Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar – newspaper of the Revolutionary
Committees

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