Libya

Libya With a predominantly Arab population, its component areas of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan were part of the Ottoman Empire from 1551 until 1911, when they were conquered by Italy, though effective Italian control was largely confined to the coastal regions. The three provinces were united in 1934, and in 1939 Libya became an Italian province. After fierce fighting there in the North African campaigns during World War II, the country was placed under British military rule in January 1943. Italy renounced all claims in 1947 and the country was declared independent by a UN resolution in 1951. The federal state was ruled by the Emir of Cyrenaica, Muhammad Idris al-Sanussi, who was proclaimed King Idris I. Despite political independence, it remained heavily reliant on British and US help for its survival, as it had no industry, no agricultural sector, and few known mineral resources. In return for their aid, both Britain and the USA were granted concessions for military bases.

Libya's position changed dramatically with the discovery of oil in 1959, which enabled it to become the world's fourth largest oil producer. The sudden wealth of the country caused serious tensions in the traditional, Muslim society, which were fuelled by the King's decision to ‘modernize’ the state. Political centralization through the abolition of the federal system and the enfranchisement of women alienated much of the Muslim population, and thus facilitated a military coup on 1 September 1969, which deposed the King and brought Gaddafi to power.

In a country that had been dominated by foreign powers for centuries, Gaddafi's appeal to an anti-capitalist and anti-Communist Arab nationalism which emphasized Libya's Muslim heritage found a great response among the population. This encouraged him to support Islamic fundamentalism as well as terrorist organizations which were fighting pro-Western Arab regimes, such as those in the Lebanon, Egypt, and Chad. During the 1980s, this was bound to cause ferocious tension with the USA led by Reagan, and culminated in the US bombing raid on Tripoli in April 1986. In domestic affairs, Gaddafi brought foreign-owned companies into state control, established free universal health care, introduced a minimum wage, guaranteed a right to work, and provided a comprehensive education system. His creation of ‘people's power’, however, whereby power was exercised from the bottom up, through a multitude of local committees, could not hide the fact that he remained in total control of his country.

His unsuccessful military intervention in Chad during the 1980s (he claimed the north of the country with its suspected uranium reserves) and increasing foreign political isolation produced a change in Gaddafi's policies. He withdrew his forces from Chad, reallowed private ownership, stopped his support for terrorist activities, and even handed over evidence of his previous support of the IRA to the British government. At the same time, his attempts at gaining international respectability remained ambiguous, as he continued, for example, to build the developing world's third largest chemical weapons factories. During the Gulf War, he even condemned Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. His growing moderation resulted in opposition from radical Islamic groups, culminating in the imprisonment of 2,000 militant Muslims in 1994. However, his policy changes failed to impress the USA and the UK, who persuaded the UN to pass international sanctions against the country in 1992. This was caused by Gaddafi's refusal to extradite two Libyans suspected of bombing an aircraft which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, objecting to the ambiguity of British and US evidence. The economic blockade caused considerable shortages in the Libyan economy, though its main export, oil, was unaffected. Eventually, Gaddafi agreed to a compromise whereby the two suspects were extradited to the Netherlands where they were tried under Scottish law, which resulted in one conviction in 2001. As a consequence, Libya gradually overcame its international isolation. In 2003, the US and the UK formally welcomed back Libya into the international community as it agreed to give up its weapons of mass destruction.