what was the political system in libya?
Provisional government Parliamentary republic
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 From childhood , Gaddafi was aware of the involvement of European colonialists in Libya ; his nation was occupied by Italy , and during the North African Campaign of World War II it witnessed conflict between Italian and British troops . According to later claims , Gaddafi 's paternal grandfather , Abdessalam Bouminyar , was killed by the Italian Army during the Italian invasion of 1911 . At World War II 's end in 1945 , Libya was occupied by British and French forces . Although Britain and France intended on dividing the nation between their empires , the General Assembly of the United Nations ( UN ) declared that the country be granted political independence . In 1951 , the UN created the United Kingdom of Libya , a federal state under the leadership of a pro @-@ western monarch , Idris , who banned political parties and established an absolute monarchy . 

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 On 2 March 1977 the General People 's Congress adopted the " Declaration of the Establishment of the People 's Authority " at Gaddafi 's behest . Dissolving the Libyan Arab Republic , it was replaced by the Great Socialist People 's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ( Arabic : الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية , al @-@ Jamāhīrīyah al- ‘ Arabīyah al @-@ Lībīyah ash @-@ Sha ‘ bīyah al @-@ Ishtirākīyah ) , a " state of the masses " conceptualized by Gaddafi . Officially , the Jamahiriya was a direct democracy in which the people ruled themselves through the 187 Basic People 's Congresses , where all adult Libyans participated and voted on national decisions . These then sent members to the annual General People 's Congress , which was broadcast live on television . In principle , the People 's Congresses were Libya 's highest authority , with major decisions proposed by government officials or with Gaddafi himself requiring the consent of the People 's Congresses . 

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 Following his defeat in the civil war , Gaddafi 's system of governance was dismantled and replaced under the interim government of the NTC , who legalised trade unions and freedom of the press . In July 2012 , elections were held to form a new General National Congress ( GNC ) , who officially took over governance from the NTC in August . The GNC proceeded to elect Mohammed Magariaf as president of the chamber , and then voted Mustafa A.G. Abushagur as Prime Minister ; when Abushagar failed to gain congressional approval , the GNC instead elected Ali Zeidan to the position . In January 2013 , the GNC officially renamed the Jamahiriyah as the " State of Libya " . 

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 After Nasser died in November 1970 , his successor , Anwar Sadat , suggested that rather than a unified state , they create a political federation , implemented in April 1971 ; in doing so , Egypt , Syria and Sudan got large grants of Libyan oil money . In February 1972 , Gaddafi and Sadat signed an unofficial charter of merger , but it was never implemented as relations broke down the following year . Sadat became increasingly wary of Libya 's radical direction , and the September 1973 deadline for implementing the Federation passed by with no action taken . 

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 All this changed with the Libyan coup d 'état of 1 September 1969 that deposed Idris and brought Muammar Gaddafi to power . Gaddafi claimed the Aouzou Strip in northern Chad , referring to an unratified treaty signed in 1935 by Italy and France ( then the colonial powers of Libya and Chad , respectively ) . Such claims had been previously made when in 1954 Idris had tried to occupy Aouzou , but his troops were repelled by the French Colonial Forces . 
