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Libya
Index
Because of continuing historical and tribal divisiveness, the
federation was replaced with a unitary system in 1963, and the
three subnational provinces were replaced by ten governorates
(see
fig. 1). The governorates were subdivided into districts
(mutasarrifiyat; sing., mutasarrifiyah), each of
which was further subdivided into subdistricts (mudiriyat;
sing., mudiriyah). Executive heads of these geographical
units included the governor (muhaafiz), district chief
(mutasarrif), and subdistrict chief (mudir),
respectively. Large cities, such as Tripoli and Benghazi, were
organized as municipalities, headed by mayors, and subdivided into
wards.
All subnational executive administrators were appointed by
royal authority on recommendation of the minister of interior and
approved by the Council of Ministers. Their appointment frequently
was based on tribal and subtribal considerations as well as family
prestige derived from the family's historical importance, religious
standing and leadership, and wealth. Thus, much of the historical
divisiveness that the switch from a federal to a unitary system was
designed to overcome was perpetuated in the frequent appointment of
members of regional and local elite families as subnational
administrators.
Interested in minimizing tribal and regional differences and in
encouraging mass participation in the political system, the RCC
began modifying the subnational government structure soon after the
1969 revolution. Laws implemented in 1970 and 1971 established the
Ministry of Local Government (which assumed some of the duties
formerly exercised by the Ministry of Interior), gave local
authorities more power to implement policies of the central
(national) government, and redesignated some of the names and
boundaries of the ten governorates. Selection of chief executives
in the governorates, districts, subdistricts, and municipalities
remained within the purview of the central government, appointments
being made by the RCC on the recommendation of the minister of
interior. Lower level administrators were required to meet
standardized civil service qualifications.
For the most part, subnational government continued to function
as a hierarchical system of administrative links with the central
government rather than as a vehicle for popular representation or
participation. The RCC as a whole and Qadhafi in particular
remained highly critical of inefficient bureaucracy, the lack of
commitment to the Revolution displayed by many civil servants and
other subnational government functionaries, and the reluctance or
inability of the population to participate in the political system.
Between 1971 and 1987, subnational government and administration
were developed in five major stages in order to correct these
deficiencies.
Data as of 1987
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