[494], Gaddafi's government's treatment of non-Arab Libyans came in for criticism from human rights activists, with native Berbers, Italians, Jews, refugees, and foreign workers all facing persecution in Gaddafist Libya. [465] Although Bianco thought he had a "gift for oratory",[429] he was considered a poor orator by Blundy and Lycett. [65] Jalloud became Prime Minister,[66] while a civilian Council of Ministers headed by Sulaiman Maghribi was founded to implement RCC policy. [166] In April 1976, he called upon his supporters in universities to establish "revolutionary student councils" and drive out "reactionary elements". The instrument for doing this was the people's committee. [102] Through these measures, the RCC greatly expanded the public sector, providing employment for thousands. [222] Following Gaddafi's command to kill these "stray dogs", under Colonel Younis Bilgasim's leadership, the Revolutionary Committees set up overseas branches to suppress counter-revolutionary activity, assassinating various dissidents. Violent counter demonstrations took place and many students were imprisoned. He kept us ignorant and blindfolded". [230][231] Libyan relations with Lebanon and Shi'ite communities across the world also deteriorated due to the August 1978 disappearance of imam Musa al-Sadr when visiting Libya; the Lebanese accused Gaddafi of having him killed or imprisoned, a charge he denied. [19] As a consequence of such policies, Libya's oil production declined by half between 1970 and 1974, while revenues from oil exports more than quadrupled. [191], Although all political control was officially vested in the People's Congresses, in reality Libya's existing political leadership continued to exercise varying degrees of power and influence. [59] Addressing the populace by radio, he proclaimed an end to the "reactionary and corrupt" regime, "the stench of which has sickened and horrified us all". The purpose of the socialist society is the happiness of man, which can only be realized through material and spiritual freedom. He reacted to these threats on one hand by maintaining a careful balance of power between the forces in the country, and by brutal repression on the other. Britain and France considered dividing the nation between their empires, but the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) decided that the country was to be granted political independence,[24] and in 1951 created the United Kingdom of Libya, a federal state under the leadership of a pro-Western monarch, Idris, who banned political parties and centralized power in his own hands. [327] By 2004, there was US$40 billion of direct foreign investment in Libya, a sixfold rise over 2003. [371] Official NTC accounts claimed that Gaddafi was caught in a cross-fire and died from bullet wounds. [40] Under Idris, Libya's armed forces were trained by the British military; this angered Gaddafi, who viewed the British as imperialists, and accordingly, he refused to learn English and was rude to the British officers, ultimately failing his exams. [51] When Prime minister Sharif refused Gaddafi's demand, Gaddafi disrespected him, calling him a "Corrupt politician", a term which insulted and surprised Sharif. Libya's army—sharply increased from the 6,000-man pre-revolutionary force that had been trained and equipped by the British—was armed with Soviet-built armor and missiles. [150] In crossing regional and tribal identities, the committee system aided national integration and centralization and tightened Gaddafi's control over the state and administrative apparatus. On 2 March 1977, the General People's Congress (GPC), at Gaddafi's behest, adopted the "Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority"[29][30] and proclaimed the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Arabic: الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية‎[31] al-Jamāhīrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Lībīyah ash-Sha'bīyah al-Ishtirākīyah). [64] Lieutenant Gaddafi became RCC chairman, and therefore the de facto head of state, also appointing himself to the rank of colonel and becoming commander-in-chief of the armed forces. [125] Over the coming decade, Gaddafi's government developed stronger political and economic links with Dom Mintoff's Maltese administration, and under Libya's urging Malta did not renew the UK's airbases on the island in 1980. In July 2012, elections were held to form a new General National Congress (GNC), which officially took over governance from the NTC in August. Corruption and entrenched systems of patronage were widespread throughout the oil industry. The conflict lasted one week before both sides agreed to sign a peace treaty that was brokered by several Arab states. Libya under Gaddafi (1969–2011) After Muammar Gaddafi's 1969 coup, U.S.-Libyan relations became increasingly strained when Gaddafi removed the American oil companies by nationalizing the oil industry. On 26 January 1976, Egyptian Vice President Hosni Mubarak indicated in a talk with the US Ambassador Hermann Eilts that the Egyptian government intended to exploit internal problems in Libya to promote actions against Libya, but did not elaborate. [180] Between 1973 and 1979, Libya provided $500 million in aid to African countries, namely to Zaire and Uganda, and founded joint-venture companies throughout the countries to aid trade and development. [19] Many biographers have used 7 June; however, his birthday is not known with certainty and sources have set it in 1942 or the spring of 1943,[19] although his biographers David Blundy and Andrew Lycett noted that it could have been pre-1940. This revolution was designed to create bureaucratic efficiency, public interest and participation in the subnational governmental system, and national political coordination. [383] He regarded this system as a practical alternative to the then-dominant international models of Western capitalism and Marxism–Leninism. Agriculture was slated to receive the largest share of aid in an effort to make Libya self-sufficient in food and to help keep the rural population on the land. There is no electricity bill in Libya, electricity is free for all its citizens. Under Gaddafi, education and health care were free for … Nevertheless, Cyrenaica between 1995 and 1998 was politically unstable, due to the tribal allegiances of the local troops.[111]. 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