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Executive
branch:
chief
of state:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1
September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto
chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's
Committee (Prime Minister) Shukri Muhammad GHANIM (since 14 June
2003)
cabinet: General People's Committee established by the
General People's Congress
elections: national elections are indirect through a
hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by
the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000
(next to be held NA)
election results: NA
Capital:
Tripoli
Population:
5,765,563
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2005 est.)
Languages:
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in
the major cities
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Egypt and Tunisia
Climate:
Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Land boundaries:
total:
4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt
1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Background:
From
the earliest days of his rule following his 1969 military coup,
Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own
political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a
combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal
practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people
themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy."
QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary
leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote
his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and
terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism.
In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military
operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to
minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics -
but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated
QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103
over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared
to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the
1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with
Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally
lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie
case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to
reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass
destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in
normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has
received various Western European leaders as well as many
working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first
trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels
in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several
outstanding cases against his government for terrorist
activities in the 1980s by paying compensation to the families
of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings.
Administrative divisions:
25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah);
Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah,
Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az
Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq,
Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran,
Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by
13 regions
International
organization participation:
ABEDA,
AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO (observer)
GDP
(purchasing power parity):
$48.19 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing
power parity - $8,400 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by
sector:
agriculture:
7.6%
industry: 49.9%
services: 42.5% (2005 est.)
Agriculture
- products:
wheat,
barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans;
cattle
Industries:
petroleum,
iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
By
the
Courtesy of World
Fact Book - Libya and
Wikipedia
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