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Libya
National Executive and Legislative Evolution
The Revolutionary Command Council (RCC)
The Constitutional Proclamation of December 11, 1969, designated
the RCC as the supreme executive and legislative authority in
Libya. The RCC itself was a collegial body in which issues and
policies were debated until enough consensus developed to establish
a unified position. As the RCC's chairman, however, Qadhafi was
the dominant figure in the revolutionary government. Although
he lacked absolute authority to impose his will on his RCC colleagues,
they generally deferred to him as the primary leader and spokesman.
The RCC appointed the members of the Council of Ministers. The
Council of Ministers was responsible collectively to the RCC,
which could dismiss the prime minister individually or accept
the resignation of other ministers. The prime ministers's resignation
automatically caused the resignation of the entire Council of
Ministers. The Council of Ministers also was charged with executing
general policy in accordance with RCC decisions. When these decisions
required new laws, the Council of Ministers drafted legislation
for the RCC's consideration. Promulgation was by RCC decree.
After 1969 numerous cabinet shuffles occurred, sometimes in reaction
to dissension within the Council of Ministers and threats against
the RCC and at other times in attempts to balance or modify the
mix of civilian and military members of the cabinet. Qadhafi became
prime minister in January 1970, but by 1972 he increasingly left
routine administrative tasks to another RCC member, Major Abdel
Salam Jallud (also seen as Jalloud), in order to devote himself
to revolutionary theory (see Political
Ideology , this ch.). In July 1972, Jallud assumed the position
of prime minister. At the time there was speculation in the foreign
press that the new Council of Ministers' composition indicated
dissension within the RCC and the diminishing of Qadhafi's authority;
these notions proved erroneous, however, at least regarding the
latter point. Qadhafi retained the positions of chairman of the
RCC, commander in chief of the armed forces, and president of
the mass political organization, the ASU, and he personally administered
the oath of office to Jallud.
Qadhafi's continuing dedication to revolutionary theorizing led
to an April 1974 decree relieving him of his other political,
administrative, and protocol duties so that he might devote all
of his time to his primary interest. Jallud assumed the functions
Qadhafi relinquished; he had already been performing many of them
unofficially. Despite the fact that Qadhafi retained the position
of commander in chief of the armed forces, speculation again arose
that his power and authority were waning. Instead, the RCC decree
appeared only to have formalized a division of labor between Qadhafi's
theoretical interests and Jallud's practical political and administrative
interests--a division that had existed informally for some time.
Data as of 1987
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