- Legal Name - Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
- Capitol - Tripoli
- Chief of State - Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADDAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
- National Anthem - "Allahu Akbar" (God Is Greatest)
- Note - the anthem was originally a battle song for the Egyptian Army in the 1956 Suez War
Libya is currently in the throes of a revolution. This is a result of the other revolutions that have taken place in the region, as well the oppressive regime of Muammar al-Qaddafi. According to numerous news sources, the protests started in Benghazi, spread to the capitol of Tripoli, and from there to other parts of the country. These protests quickly turned violent as soldiers loyal to Qaddafi fired on their own citizens.
Qaddafi and his son have each given speeches in the last few days. Qaddafi the elder gave a 15 second speech while holding an umbrella and hanging out of a truck (the speech made no sense, which is usual for a Qaddafi speech). His son, on the other hand, gave a very poignant speech that amounted to the threat of violence and civil war throughout the country if the protests did not end immediately (threats of which Libya has since made good on). These two speeches came on the heels of violent protests in the city of Benghazi and were meant to quell the uprisings, but have not worked.
The rebel forces say that they have seized multiple military bases, and do not seem likely to surrender any time soon. Some analysts have predicted that Qaddafi only has 2-3 weeks left before he is forced to resign. Qaddafi has made it clear in recent days that he plans to "Die a martyr," meaning he does not plan on giving up his position no matter what the cost.
The rebel forces have cut off the supply of Libyan oil to the rest of the world, causing a massive spike in worldwide oil prices. The price of a barrel of oil as of Friday evening is just over $98/ barrel.
* Muammar al-Qaddafi, the revolutionary leader of the country, hold no official title, but prefers to call himself, "Colonel," "King of Kings," or "The Bulldog of the Middle East."
* Facts about Libya came mostly from the CIA World Factbook
