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Period: to
Italy conquers Libya.
Italy conquers Libya. Omar al-Mukhtar begins 20-year insurgency against Italian rule. -
Libyan resistance grows.
Libyan resistance grows as Senussi dynasty joins in alongside the Mukhtar campaign. -
Al-Mukhtar is captured and executed.
Italy breaks resistance through combination of major armed operations and concentration camps for rebel population. Al-Mukhtar is captured and executed. -
Steps up Italian migration
Italy unites the provinces as the colony of Libya and steps up Italian migration as part of an eventual plan for the incorporation of Libya into a Greater Italy. -
Allies oust Italians from Libya
Allies oust Italians from Libya, which is then divided between the French, who administer Fezzan, and the British, who control Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. -
Libya becomes independent
Libya becomes independent under King Idris al-Sanusi. -
Libya grants two American oil companies
Libya grants two American oil companies a concession of some 14 million acres. -
King Idris opens a pipeline
King Idris opens a 104-mile pipeline, which links important oil fields in the interior to the Mediterranean Sea and makes it possible to export Libyan oil for the first time. -
King Idris deposed in military coup led by Col Muammar Gaddafi
King Idris deposed in military coup led by Col Muammar Gaddafi, who pursues a pan-Arab agenda by attempting to form mergers with several Arab countries, and introduces state socialism by nationalising most economic activity, including the oil industry. -
Period: to
The Gaddafi era
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Libya orders the closure of a British airbase
Libya orders the closure of a British airbase in Tobruk and the giant US Wheelus air force base in Tripoli; property belonging to Italian settlers nationalised. -
National referendum approves proposed Federation of Arab Republics
National referendum approves proposed Federation of Arab Republics (FAR) comprising Libya, Egypt and Syria. However, the FAR never takes off. -
Libya and Egypt agree on a merger, but this fails to materialise.
Libya and Egypt agree on a merger, but this fails to materialise. -
Col Gaddafi declares a "cultural revolution"
Col Gaddafi declares a "cultural revolution", which includes the formation of "people's committees" in schools, hospitals, universities, workplaces and administrative districts; Libyan forces occupy Aozou Strip in northern Chad. -
Libya and Tunisia agree the "Islamic Arab Republic"
Libya and Tunisia agree on a union state - the "Islamic Arab Republic" - but this proves to be stillborn. -
Col Gaddafi declares a "people's revolution"
Col Gaddafi declares a "people's revolution", changing the country's official name from the Libyan Arab Republic to the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah and setting up "revolutionary committees" - heralding the start of institutionalised chaos, economic decline and general arbitrariness. -
Libya and Syria agree on a merger
Libya and Syria agree on a merger, but this too fails to materialise; Libyan troops start intervening on a large scale in civil war in northern Chad. -
US shoots down two Libyan aircraft
US shoots down two Libyan aircraft which challenged its warplanes over the Gulf of Sirte, claimed by Libya as its territorial water. -
Period: to
Confrontation with the US
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UK breaks off diplomatic relations with Libya
UK breaks off diplomatic relations with Libya after a British policewoman is shot dead outside the Libyan People's Bureau, or embassy, in London, while anti-Gaddafi protests were taking place. -
US bombs Libyan military facilities
US bombs Libyan military facilities, residential areas of Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 101 people, and Gaddafi's house, killing his adopted daughter. USsays raids were in response to alleged Libyan involvement in bombing of Berlin disco frequented by US military personnel. -
Gaddafi orders the release of some political prisoners and embarks on limited economic liberalisation.
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Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia form the Arab Maghreb Union.
Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia form the Arab Maghreb Union. -
UN imposes sanctions on Libya
UN imposes sanctions on Libya in an effort to force it to hand over for trial two of its citizens suspected of involvement in the blowing up of a PanAm airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988. -
Period: to
Lockerbie plane bombing
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Libya returns the Aozou Strip to Chad.
Libya returns the Aozou Strip to Chad. -
Gaddafi expels some 30,000 Palestinians in protest at the Oslo accords
Gaddafi expels some 30,000 Palestinians in protest at the Oslo accords between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Israel. -
Lockerbie suspects handed over for trial in the Netherlands under Scottish law
Lockerbie suspects handed over for trial in the Netherlands under Scottish law; UN sanctions suspended; diplomatic relations with UK restored. -
Dozens of African immigrants are killed by Libyan mobs
September - Dozens of African immigrants are killed by Libyan mobs in the west of Libya who were said to be angry at the large number of African labourers coming into the country. -
Special Scottish court in the Netherlands finds one of the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing.
Special Scottish court in the Netherlands finds one of the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi, guilty and sentences him to life imprisonment. Megrahi's co-accused, Al-Amin Khalifa Fahimah, is found not guilty and freed. -
Libyan troops help to quell
Libyan troops help to quell a coup attempt against President Ange-Felix Patasse of the Central African Republic. -
Period: to
Lockerbie sentence
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Libya and the US say they have held talks to mend relations after years
Libya and the US say they have held talks to mend relations after years of hostility over what the Americans termed Libya's sponsorship of terrorism. -
The Libyan man found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing,
The Libyan man found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, loses his appeal against the conviction and begins a life sentence of at least 20 years. -
Libya is elected chairman of the UN Human Rights Commission
Libya is elected chairman of the UN Human Rights Commission despite opposition from the US and human rights groups. -
Period: to
Compensation
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Libya signs a deal worth $2.7bn to compensate families of the bombing victims.
Libya signs a deal worth $2.7bn to compensate families of the Lockerbie bombing victims. Libya takes responsibility for the bombing in a letter to the UN Security Council. -
UN Security Council votes to lift sanctions.
UN Security Council votes to lift sanctions. -
Libya says will abandon programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Libya says will abandon programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction. -
Libya agrees to compensate families of victims of 1989 bombing
Libya agrees to compensate families of victims of 1989 bombing of French passenger aircraft over Sahara. -
British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits
British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits, the first such visit since 1943. -
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor are sentenced to death
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor are sentenced to death having been accused of deliberately infecting some 400 children with HIV. Their case goes to appeal. -
Period: to
Nurses sentenced
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Libya agrees to pay $35m to compensate victims of the bombing
Libya agrees to pay $35m to compensate victims of the bombing of a Berlin nightclub in 1986. -
Libya's first auction of oil and gas exploration
Libya's first auction of oil and gas exploration licences heralds the return of US energy companies for the first time in more than 20 years. -
Supreme Court overturns death penalties on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor
Supreme Court overturns death penalties imposed on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor convicted of infecting Libyan children with HIV. A retrial is ordered. -
10 people are killed
At least 10 people are killed in clashes with police in Benghazi, part of a wave of international protests by Muslims who are angered by a Danish newspaper's cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. -
The US says it is restoring full diplomatic ties with Libya.
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Human Rights Watch accuses Libya of abusing the human rights
Human Rights Watch accuses Libya of abusing the human rights of African migrants trying to enter the EU by forcibly repatriating them. Some of the migrants face possible persecution or torture at home, according to the report. -
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor are sentenced to death.
At the end of a retrial, a court finds five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor guilty of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV. All six are sentenced to death. -
Prime minister announces plan to make redundant 400,000 government workers
Prime minister announces plan to make redundant 400,000 government workers - more than a third of the total workforce - to stimulate the private sector and ease public spending. -
The death sentences of the six foreign medical workers
The death sentences of the six foreign medical workers in the HIV case are commuted to life in prison. Shortly after they are freed under a deal with the European Union. -
Period: to
Nurses freed
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Libya takes over one-month rotating presidency of the UN Security Council
Libya takes over one-month rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in a step back to respectability after decades as a pariah of the West. -
Libya and US sign an agreement
Libya and US sign agreement committing each side to compensate all victims of bombing attacks on the other's citizens.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi apologises to Libya for damage inflicted by Italy during the colonial era and signs a five billion dollar investment deal by way of compensation. -
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes historic visit
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes historic visit - the highest-level US visit to Libya since 1953. Ms Rice says relations between the US and Libya have entered a "new phase". -
US Lockerbie victims' group says Libya has paid them full compensation.
US Lockerbie victims' group says Libya has paid them full compensation. Possibility of restoration of diplomatic relations with United States. -
Gaddafi elected chairman of the African Union by leaders meeting in Ethiopia.
Gaddafi elected chairman of the African Union by leaders meeting in Ethiopia. Sets out ambition of "United States of Africa" even embracing the Caribbean -
Gaddafi pays first state visit to Italy
Gaddafi pays first state visit to Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler and now its main trading partner. -
Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi
Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is freed from gaol in Scotland on compassionate grounds and returned to Libya. His release and return to a hero's welcome causes a storm of controversy. -
Period: to
Al-Megrahi released
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Diplomatic row with Switzerland and European Union
Diplomatic row with Switzerland and European Union after one of Gaddafi's sons is held in Switzerland on charges of mistreating domestic workers. -
Russia agrees to sell Libya weapons
Russia agrees to sell Libya weapons in a deal worth $1.8bn. The deal is thought to include fighter jets, tanks and air defence systems. -
UN refugee agency UNHCR expelled.
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US senators push for inquiry into claims that oil giant
US senators push for inquiry into claims that oil giant BP lobbied for Lockerbie bomber's release.
BP confirms it is about to begin drilling off Libyan coast. -
European Union and Libya sign agreement designed to slow illegal migration.
European Union and Libya sign agreement designed to slow illegal migration. -
WikiLeaks indicate that Gaddafi threatened to cut trade with Britain
US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks indicate that Gaddafi threatened to cut trade with Britain if Lockerbie bomber died in prison. -
Arrest of human rights campaigner sparks violent protests in eastern city of Benghazi
Arrest of human rights campaigner sparks violent protests in eastern city of Benghazi that rapidly spread to other cities. Authorities use aircraft to attack protestors. Gaddafi insists that he will not quit, and remains in control of the capital, Tripoli. -
Period: to
Anti-Gaddafi uprising
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UN Security Council authorises a no-fly zone over Libya
UN Security Council authorises a no-fly zone over Libya and air strikes to protect civilians, over which NATO assumes command.
Backed by extensive NATO air raids, Libyan rebels initially capture territory but are then forced back by better-armed pro-Gaddafi forces. Rebels ask West for arms. -
The international Contact Group on Libya formally recognises the main opposition group
The international Contact Group on Libya formally recognises the main opposition group, the National Transitional Council (NTC), as the legitimate government of Libya. -
African Union joins 60 countries
African Union joins 60 countries which have recognised the NTC as the new Libyan authority. -
Rebels swarm into Col Gaddafi's fortress compound in Tripoli
Rebels swarm into Col Gaddafi's fortress compound in Tripoli, six months after the uprising began. With only a few remaining strongholds under his control, Col Gaddafi goes into hiding. His wife and three of his children flee to neighbouring Algeria. -
Col Gaddafi is killed.
Col Gaddafi is killed. Three days later, the NTC declares Libya to be officially "liberated" and announces plans to hold elections within eight months. -
Saif al-Islam,is captured.
Saif al-Islam, the fugitive son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, is captured, becoming the last key Gaddafi family member to be seized or killed. The transitional government says he will be put on trial. -
Clashes erupt between former rebel forces in Benghazi
Clashes erupt between former rebel forces in Benghazi in sign of discontent with the pace and nature of change under the governing NTC. The deputy head of the NTC, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, resigns. -
Scores killed in clashes between Arab Zawi and African Tebu groups
Scores killed in clashes between Arab Zawi and African Tebu groups in Al-Kufra in the remote south-east. -
NTC officials in the oil-rich east launch a campaign to re-establish autonomy for the region
NTC officials in the oil-rich east, centred on Benghazi, launch a campaign to re-establish autonomy for the region, further increasing tension with the central NTC in Tripoli.
Mauritania arrests Gaddafi-era intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi at Nouakchott Airport, and insists it will investigate him before considering an extradition request from Libya. The International Criminal Court and France also seek his extradition. -
Gunmen burst into government headquarters in Tripoli
Gunmen burst into government headquarters in Tripoli during a protest against the suspensions of bounty payments to groups that had fought against the Gaddafi government. Security forces restore order. Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi dies in Tripoli. A private funeral is held. -
A militia holding detains a delegation from the International Criminal Court
A militia holding Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in the southern town of Zintan detains a delegation from the International Criminal Court, accusing its members of trying to pass him documents from a former ally.
