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Libya
Subnational Government and Administration
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
. 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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