Under United Nations’ direction, the country was granted full independence in 1951. King Idris became head of state, pursuing a broadly pro-Western foreign policy while keeping up cordial relations with other Arab states. During the 1950s and 1960s, major discoveries of oil, with consequent benefits for state finances, greatly improved the economic prospects of the country. In 1969, a military coup occurred which not only radically altered Libyan politics, but brought the country to world attention. The coup was the last of the wave of Nasserite revolutions which had swept the Arab world over the previous years. The country was taken over by a Revolutionary Command Council, led by Colonel Muammar al-Gadhafi.

Domestically, Gadhafi embarked on the so-called Green Revolution (this was before the colour had become unequivocally associated with the worldwide environmental movement), under which all local and regional administration is devolved to a set of representative congresses and committees. The ultimate aim is the creation of a Jamahiriya – literally a ‘state of the masses’ (see below). An Islamic code of justice, less severe than those since adopted by Muslim fundamentalist regimes, was introduced and still operates. After over 30 years in power, Gadhafi is now one of the world’s longest serving heads of state. Open political dissent is not tolerated but there is a substantial and diverse opposition, ranging from liberal democrats to supporters of the old monarchy to Islamic fundamentalists. Most are in exile (mainly in Egypt and Britain). The most potent domestic opposition comes from the Fighting Islamic Group, which is allied to other Islamist organisations in North Africa and has made several attempts to assassinate Gadhafi.

Gadhafi’s 1969 takeover was not immediately opposed by Western governments, who were used to Nasserite rhetoric and believed that in practice an accommodation could be reached with the new regime. The turning point came in 1973 with Gadhafi’s nationalisation of the oil industry, including the Libyan operations of foreign multinationals, followed by the oil crisis of the same year in which Libya played a key role. Thereafter Libya – and Gadhafi especially – became a particular bugbear of the West. This arose from the Libyan government’s political and practical support for a variety of revolutionary and terrorist groups, its former practice of murdering its exiled opponents, its involvement in various attempts to undermine other African governments (including Chad, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone), and its complicity in various acts of terrorism in the West. The most serious of these were the destruction of two airliners: one French over the Sahara in 1987, the other American over the Scottish town of Lockerbie the following year.

The West’s response was to impose economic sanctions, which have undoubtedly affected the Libyan economy, and to engage in a series of attempts to dispose of Gadhafi – most spectacularly the 1986 bombing of Tripoli – all of which have failed. Libya was also all but ostracised from the international community. The Libyan government has now made some reparations for its alleged misdeeds and Libyan nationals have been convicted of both bombings. By 2003, despite last-minute hitches, almost all sanctions had been lifted. Libya had opened up a number of new channels to the West. The most important of these is with Italy, with which Libya has important historic and economic links. In October 2002, Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi became the first Western premier to visit Libya for a generation.

In Africa, Libya has managed a substantial improvement in relations with its neighbours, especially Egypt. The only recent foreign military intervention has been the despatch in May 2001 of Libyan troops to help prevent a coup against the government of the Central African Republic. Further afield, Gadhafi gained much support for his initiative, which Libya has partly underwritten, to overhaul the Organisation for African Unity. The OAU was set up in 1963 to promote solidarity, co-ordinate policy and guarantee national sovereignty amongst African states. Now known as the African Union, the new organisation was established in 2002 and is still based in Addis Ababa (the former home of the OAU) with the same membership – namely, every African country bar Morocco. The ultimate aim is to build African Unity into something resembling the European Union.