page_title: Politics of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi
section_title: Jamahiriya sector
hierarchical_section_title: Politics of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi / Political sectors under Gaddafi / Jamahiriya sector
caption_attribution_description: English: Plaque with coat of arms at the fence of "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Great Jamahiriya People's Bureau" (Libyan embassy) in Prague, Czechia
context_page_description: From 1969 to early 2011, the politics of Libya were determined de facto by Muammar Gaddafi, who had been in power since his overthrow of the Kingdom of Libya in 1969.
  Gaddafi abolished the post-1951 Libyan Constitution and introduced his own political philosophy, based on his Green Book published in the 1970s. Gaddafi's system was known as Jamahiriya and was notionally legally based on the legislative General People's Congress, consisting of 2,700 representatives of Basic People's Congresses, and the executive General People's Committee, headed by a General Secretary.
  The "Jamahiriya sector" was overseen by the "revolutionary sector." This was headed by Muammar Gaddafi as "Brotherly Leader of the Revolution", the Revolutionary Committees, and the surviving members of the 12-person Revolutionary Command Council established in 1969. This "revolutionary sector" held office by virtue of having led the revolution and therefore was not subject to election. As a consequence, although Gaddafi held no governmental post after 1980, he maintained absolute control over the country until the collapse of his regime during the Libyan Civil War.
context_section_description: The term Jamahiriya (Arabic: جماهيرية‎ jamāhīriyyah) is generally translated as "state of the masses". It is intended to describe a state following the political philosophy expounded by Gaddafi in his Green Book. The term does not occur in this sense in Gaddafi's Green Book itself, although the text does dwell on the concept of the "masses" (Arabic: جماهير‎).
  The concept was presented as the materialization of the Third International Theory, proposed by Gaddafi to be applied to the entire Third World. The term in practice has only been applied to the Libyan state, of which Gaddafi was the Caid (translated Leader; strict transliteration Qāʾid). Although Gaddafi no longer held public office or title after 1980, he was accorded the honorifics "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official press.
  The government of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya officially stated that Libya is a direct democracy without any political parties, governed by its populace through local popular councils and communes (named Basic People's Congresses).
  Making up the legislative branch of government, this sector comprised Local People's Congresses in each of the 1,500 urban wards, 32 Sha’biyat People's Congresses for the regions, and the National General People's Congress. These legislative bodies were represented by corresponding executive bodies (Local People's Committees, Sha'biyat People's Committees and the National General People's Committee/Cabinet).
  Every four years the membership of the Local People's Congresses elected by acclamation both their own leadership and secretaries for the People's Committees, sometimes after many debates and a critical vote. The leadership of the Local People's Congress represented the local congress at the People's Congress of the next level and has an imperative mandate. The members of the National General People's Congress elected the members of the National General People's Committee (the Cabinet) by acclamation at their annual meeting.
  While there was discussion regarding who would run for executive offices, only those approved by the revolutionary leadership were actually elected. The government administration was effective as long as it operated within the directives of the revolutionary leadership. The revolutionary leadership had absolute veto power despite the constitutionally established people's democracy and alleged rule of the people. The government controlled both state-run and semi-autonomous media, and any articles critical of current policies were requested and intentionally placed by the revolutionary leadership itself, for example, as a means of initiating reforms. In cases involving a violation of "these taboos", the private press, like The Tripoli Post, was censored.
  There was no separate defense ministry in Gaddafi's Libya; all defence activities are centralised under the presidency. Arms production was limited, due to extensive imports from the Soviet Union, and manufacturers were state-owned.
caption: Plaque denoting the "Peoples' Bureau" (Embassy) of "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Great Jamahiriya" in Prague
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