Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form:
Libya
local long form:
none
local short form:
Libiya
Government type:
operates under a transitional government
Capital:
name:
Tripoli (Tarabulus)
geographic coordinates:
32 53 N, 13 10 E
time difference:
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends last Friday in October
note:
on 10 November 2012, Libya changed its standard time from UTC+2 to UTC+1
Administrative divisions:
22 districts (shabiyat, singular - shabiyat); Al Butnan, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jabal al Gharbi, Al Jafarah, Al Jufrah, Al Kufrah, Al Marj, Al Marqab, Al Wahat, An Nuqat al Khams, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghat, Misratah, Murzuq, Nalut, Sabha, Surt, Tarabulus, Wadi al Hayat, Wadi ash Shati
Independence:
24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)
National holiday:
Liberation Day, 23 October (2011)
Constitution:
previous 1951, 1977; latest 2011 (interim); note - in mid-July 2013, Libya's legislative body agreed on steps for drafting a new constitution (2013)
Legal system:
Libya's post-revolution legal system is in flux and driven by state and non-state entities
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Suffrage:
18 years of age, universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President, General National Congress, Nuri Abu SAHMAYN
head of government:
Abdullah al-THANI remains Prime Minister after the 4 May 2014 election is declared unconstitutional; Deputy Prime Ministers Awad Ibrik Ibrahim al-BARASI, Sadiq Abd al-Karim Abd al-Rahman KARIM, Abd-al-Salam Muhammad al-Mahdi al-QADI
cabinet:
new cabinet approved by the General National Congress on 31 October 2012
elections:
prime minister and General National Congress president elected by the National Congress
election results:
NA
Legislative branch:
unicameral General National Congress (200 seats; 120 individual seats elected from 69 constituencies and 80 party list seats elected from 20 constituencies; member term NA)
elections:
first General National Congress election held on 7 July 2012 (next to be held NA)
election results:
percent of vote for party list seats only - NFA 48.7%, JCP 21.3%, other parties 30%; list and constituent seats - NFA 39, JCP 17, other 24, independents 120
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):
NA; note - government in transition
Political parties and leaders:
Al-Watan (Homeland) Party
Justice and Construction Party or JCP [Muhammad SAWAN]
National Front (initially the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, formed in 1981 as a diaspora opposition group)
National Forces Alliance or NFA [Mahmoud JIBRIL, founder] (includes many political organizations, NGOs, and independents)
Union for the Homeland [Abd al-Rahman al-SUWAYHILI]
note:
list includes some of the larger political parties and leaders
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation:
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BDEAC, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Suleiman ABULHI
chancery:
2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037
telephone:
[1] (202) 944-9601
FAX:
[1] (202) 944-9606
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Deborah K. JONES (since 11 June 2013)
note:
on 11 September 2012, US Ambassador Christopher STEVENS and three other American diplomats were killed in an attack by heavily armed militants on a US diplomatic post in the eastern city of Benghazi
embassy:
Sidi Slim Area/Walie Al-Ahed Road, Tripoli
mailing address:
US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850
telephone:
[218] (0) 91-220-3239
Flag description:
three horizontal bands of red (top), black (double width), and green with a white crescent and star centered on the black stripe; the National Transitional Council reintroduced this flag design of the former Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969) on 27 February 2011; it replaced the former all-green banner promulgated by the QADHAFI regime in 1977; the colors represent the three major regions of the country: red stands for Fezzan, black symbolizes Cyrenaica, and green denotes Tripolitania; the crescent and star represent Islam, the main religion of the country
National symbol(s):
star and crescent; hawk
National anthem:
name:
"Allahu Akbar" (God Is Greatest)
lyrics/music:
Mahmoud el-SHERIF/Abdalla Shams el-DIN
note:
adopted 1969; the anthem was originally a battle song for the Egyptian Army in the 1956 Suez War