Political Science

C37
(Group 3: Greece – Libya)
Country: Greece – Democratic
 Type of Democracy: Representative
 Variety: Established

Politics of Greece takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative

democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of
government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised
by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the
Hellenic Parliament. Since the restoration of democracy the party system is
dominated by the conservative New Democracy (Νεα Δημοκρατια - Nea
Dimokratia) and the socialist Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Πανελληνιο
Σοσιαλιστικο Κινημα - Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima). The Judiciary is
independent of the executive and the legislature.

The 1975 constitution, which describes Greece as a "presidential parliamentary

republic," includes extensive specific guarantees of civil liberties and vests the
powers of the head of state in a president elected by parliament. The Greek
governmental structure is similar to that found in many Western democracies,
and has been described as a compromise between the French and German
models. The prime minister and cabinet play the central role in the political
process, while the president performs some executive and legislative functions
in addition to ceremonial duties.

Executive branch

Office Name Party Since

President Karolos Papoulias Panhellenic Socialist Movement March 12, 2005

Prime Kostas
New Democracy March 10, 2004
Minister Karamanlis

The Cabinet of Greece includes the heads of all executive ministries, appointed
by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. The President of
the Republic is elected by the Parliament for a five-year term (election last held
March 7, 2004), and a maximum of two terms in office. When a presidential term
expires, Parliament votes to elect the new President. In the first two votes, a 2/3
majority (200 votes) is necessary. The third and final vote requires a 3/5 (180
votes) majority. If the third vote is fruitless, Parliament is dissolved and elections

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are proclaimed by the outgoing President within the next 30 days. In the new
Parliament, the election for President is repeated immediately with a 3/5 majority
required for the initial vote, an absolute majority for the second one (151 votes)
and a simple majority for the third and final one. The system is so designed as to
promote consensus Presidential candidates among the main political parties.
The president has the power to declare war, to grant pardon and to conclude
agreements of peace, alliance, and participation in international organizations;
upon the request of the government a simple parliamentary majority is required
to ratify such actions, agreements, or treaties. An absolute or a three-fifths
majority is required in exceptional cases (for example, the accession into the EU
needed a 3/5 majority). The president can also exercise certain emergency
powers, which must be countersigned by the appropriate cabinet minister.
Changes to the constitution in 1986 limited the president's political powers. As a
result, the president may not dissolve parliament, dismiss the government,
suspend certain articles of the constitution, issue a proclamation or declare a
state of siege without countersigning by the prime minister or the appropriate
cabinet minister. To call a referendum, he must obtain approval from parliament.

The prime minister is appointed by the president and he is usually the leader of
the party controlling the absolute malority of Parliament members. According to
the Constitution, the prime minister safeguerds the unity of the government and
directs its activities. He is the most powerful person of the greek political system
and he recommendates to the President the appointment or the dismissal of the
ministers. His recommendation is obligatory for the President.

Legislative branch

Greece elects a legislature by universal suffrage of all citizens over the age of
18. The Greek Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) has 300 members, elected for a
four-year term by a system of reinforced proportional representation in 51 multi-
seat constituencies, 5 single-seat constituencies and a single nationwide list.
288 of the 300 seats are determined by constituecy voting, and voters may
select the candidate or candidates of their choice by marking their name on the
party ballot. The remaining 12 seats are filled from nationwide party lists on a
top-down basis and based on the proportion of the total vote each party
received. Greece uses a complex reinforced proportional representation
electoral system which discourages splinter parties and makes a parliamentary
majority possible even if the leading party falls short of a majority of the popular
vote. Under the current electoral law, any single party must receive at least a 3%
nationwide vote tally in order to elect Members of Parliament (the so-called "3%
threshold"). The law in its current form favors the first past the post party to
achieve an absolute (151 parliamentary seats) majority, provided it receives a
41%+ nationwide vote. This is touted to enhance governmental stability. The
electoral law can be changed by simple parliamentary majority, but a law so
changed only becomes enforced in the election following the upcoming one,

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 unless it is voted by the Greek Parliament with a majority of 2/3 of the total
number of the deputies.

Political parties and leaders

Summary of the 7 March 2004 Greek Parliament election results

Parties Leaders Votes Seats

No. %  +− % No. +−

New Democracy (Nea Costas

3,359,058 45.4 +2.7 165 +39
Dimokratia) Caramanlis

Panhellenic Socialist
George
Movement (Panellinio 3,002,531 40.5 -3.2 117 −40
Papandreou
Sosialistiko Kinima)

Communist Party of
Aleka
Greece (Kommunistiko Komma 436,573 5.9 +0.4 12 +1
Papariga
Elladas)

Coalition of the Radical Left

Alekos
(Synaspismos tis Rizospastikis 241,539 3.3 +0.1 6 +0
Alavanos
Aristeras)

Popular Orthodox Rally (Laikos Georgios

162,103 2.2 - 0 -
Orthodoxos Synagermos) Karatzaferis

Democratic Social Movement Dimitris

132,750 1.8 -0.9 0 -
(Dimokratiki Kinoniku Kinima) Tsovolas

Union of Centrists (Enosi Vassilis

  19,531 0.3 +0 0 +0
Kentroou) Leventis

Radical Left Front (Metopo

11,261 0.2 +0 0 +0
Rizospastikis Aristeras)

Communist Party of Greece

(Marxist-Leninist)
10,764 0.2 +0 0 +0
( Kommounistiko Komma
Elladas (marxistiko-leninistiko))

Anti-Capitalist Coalition 8,313 0.1 - 0 -

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 Hellenic Front (Elliniko Metopo) Makis Voridis 6,751 0.1 - 0 -

Marxist-Leninist Communist
Party of Greece (Marxistiko-
4,846 0.1 +0 0 +0
leninistiko Kommounistiko
Komma Elladas)

Militant Socialist Party of

3,180 0.0 +0 0 +0
Greece

Liberals (Oi Fileleytheroi) 2,658 0.0 - 0 -

Organization for the

Reconstruction of the 2,099 0.0 +0 0 +0
Communist Party of Greece

Others 958 0.0 +0 0 +0

No. of valid votes 7,404,934 100,00   300  

Invalid votes 166,667

7,571,601  
Total
(75.6%)

 Source: Greek Interior Ministry website

http://www.ypes.gr/ekloges/content/gr/ethnik_fr.htm 
 The results of the Coalition of Radical Left are compared with the 2000 results of
the Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology (Συνασπισμός της
Αριστεράς, των Κινημάτων, και της Οικολογίας- Synaspismos tis Aristeras, ton
Kinimaton, kal tis Oikologias), the main party of the coalition.

Judicial branch

In Greece the judicial branch is divided in:

the civil courts, which judge civil and penal cases 

the administrative courts, which judge administrative cases, namely disputes

between the citizens and the State. 

The judicial system of Greece comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of
Cassation (Άρειος Πάγος), the Council of State (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) and

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the Chamber of Accounts (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). These high courts are consisted
of professional judges, graduates of the National School of Judges. The way the
judges are gradually promoted, until they become members of the Supreme
Courts, is defined by the Constitution and the existing laws. The presidents and
the vice-presidents of the three Supreme Courts are chosen by the Cabinet of
Greece among the serving members of each of the Supreme Courts.

The Court of Cassation is the supreme civil and penal court, whereas the
Council of State is the supreme administrative court. The Chamber of Accounts
has an exclusive competence on certain administrative areas (for example it
judges disputes arising from the legislation regulating the pensions of civil
servants) and its decisions are irrevocable. This means that they are not judged
at second instance by the Council of State.

Sometimes, the Supreme Courts take contradictory decisions or they judge

differently the constitutionality of a legal provision. These disputes are resolved
by the Supreme Special Court, whose the composition and jurisdiction is
regulated by the Consitution (article 100). As its name reveals, this court is not
permanent and it sits, when a special case belonging to its jurisdiction arises.
When the Supreme Special Court sits, it comprises eleven members: the
Presidents of the three Supreme Courts, four members of the Court of Cassation
and four members of the Council of State. When it judges the constitutionality of
a law or resolves the disputes between Supreme Courts, its composition
comprises two more members: two professors of the Law Schools of Greece.
The Supreme Special Court is the only court which can declare an
unconstitutional legal provision as "powerless" (something like "null and void"),
while the three Supreme Courts can only declare an unconstitutional legal
provision as "inapplicable". The Supreme Special Court is also the Supreme
Electoral Court, judging pleas against the legality of the legislative elections.

Administrative divisions

Greece is divided in 13 peripheries, further divided into 51 prefectures. The

prefectures are each headed by a prefect (nomarch), who is elected by direct
popular vote. The thirteen regional administrative districts (peripheries), each
including a number of prefectures are headed by a regional governor
(periferiarch), appointed by the Minister of the Interior. In northern Greece and in
greater Athens, three areas have an additional administrative position between
the nomarch and periferiarch. This official, known as the president of the
prefectural local authorities or "super nomarch," is elected by direct popular vote.
Although municipalities and villages have elected officials, they do not have an
adequate independent tax base and must depend on the central government for
a large part of their financial needs. Consequently they are subject to numerous
central government controls. This also leads to extremely low municipal taxes
(usually around 0.2% or less). Greece includes 1 autonomous region (Mount
Athos).

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International organization participation

Greece is member of the Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, EIB, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

Politicians of Greece

 Alekos Alavanos   Andreas Papandreou 

 Dimitris Avramopoulos   George Papandreou,

junior 
 Maria Damanaki 
 George Papandreou,
 Manolis Glezos  senior 
 Konstantinos Karamanlis 
 Aleka Papariga 
 Konstantinos Mitsotakis   Karolos Papoulias 

 Costas Karamanlis   Antonis Samaras 

 Georgios Karatzaferis   Costas Simitis 

 Nikos Konstantopoulos   Costis Stephanopoulos 
 Vassilis Leventis 
 Dimitris Tsovolas 
 and others…

Political issues

Education

Under the Greek constitution [1], education is the responsibility of the state. Most
Greeks attend public primary and secondary schools. There are a few private
schools, which must meet the standard curriculum of and are supervised by the
Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education oversees and directs every
aspect of the public education process at all levels, including hiring all teachers
and professors and producing all required textbooks.

A recent issue concerning education in Greece is the institutionalisation of

private universities. According to the constitution [2] only state-run universities
operate on the land. However in the recent years many foreign private
universities have established branches in Greece, offering Bachelor's level

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degrees, therefore creating a legal contradiction between the Greek constitution
and the EU laws allowing foreign companies to operate anywhere in the Union.
The two major parties (ND and PASOK) have commited to amending the
constitution to allow private (or "non-state" as they put it) universities to operate
in Greece. This has been encountered with the fierce opposition by the parties
of the Left and by large parts of the academic community, both professors and
students.

Religion

The Greek Orthodox Church is under the protection of the State, which pays the
clergy's salaries, and Orthodox Christianity is the "prevailing" religion of Greece
according to the Constitution. The Greek Orthodox Church is self-governing but
under the spiritual guidance of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople.
About 98% of Greek citizens consider themselves members of the Orthodox
Church.

The Muslim minority, concentrated in Thrace, was given legal status by

provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and is Greece's only officially
recognized religious minority. There are small Catholic communities on some of
the Cyclades, remnants of the long Venetian rule over the islands. The recent
influx of (mostly illegal) immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Third World
has an expectedly varied multi-religious profile (Catholic, Muslim, Hindu etc).

Under the 2001 constitutional amendment, complete separation of church and

state was being proposed, but the two big parties, ND and PASOK, agreed not
to open this controversial subgect, which clashes with both the population and
the clergy. For example, numerous protests have occurred for the removal of the
Religious Denomination entry from the National ID card. However, outside the
Orthodox majority, many believe that Greece had and still has a serious problem
of religious freedom. [1] [2]

Media

In comparative NGO studies , Greece ranks among the highest in press freedom
worldwide.

The Greek media, collectively, is a very influential institution — usually

aggressive, sensationalist. As with many countries, most of the media are
owned by businessmen with commercial interests in other sectors of the
economy. There are often accusations of newspapers, magazines, and radio
and TV channels being used to promote their commercial enterprises as well as
to seek political influence.

In 1994, the Ministry of Press and Information was established to deal with
media and communication issues. ERT S.A., a public corporation supervised by

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the Minister of Press, operates three national television channels and five
national radio channels. The Minister of Press also serves as the primary
government spokesperson.

The Secretary General of Press and Information prepares the semi-official

Athens News Agency (ANA) Bulletin. Along with AP and Reuters, this is a
primary source of information for the Greek press. The Ministry of Press and
Information also issues the semi-official Macedonian News Agency (MPE)
Bulletin, which is distributed throughout the Balkan region. For international
news, CNN is a particular influence in the Greek market; the major TV channels
often use it as a source. State and private TV stations also use Eurovision and
Visnews as sources. While few papers and stations have overseas
correspondents, those few correspondents abroad can be very influential.

In 1988, a new law provided the legal framework for the establishment of private
radio stations and, in 1989, private TV stations. According to the law,
supervision of radio and television is exercised by the National Radio and
Television Council. In practice, however, official licensing has been delayed for
many years. Because of this, there has been a proliferation of private radio and
TV stations, as well as European satellite channels, including Euronews. More
than 1,000 radio stations were operating before March 2002, when the
government implemented plans to reallocate TV frequencies and issue licenses
as authorized by the 1993 Media Law, effectively reducing this number.

Military Service

12 months for all males of 18 years of age; Compulsory with fines and
imprisonment if denied. Members of families with 3 children serve a reduced
time of 9 months. Military Service denial can also be substituted by a longer
public service. Limited steps have been taken to turn the Greek military into a
semi-professional army in the last years, leading to the gradual decrease of the
service from 18 to 12 months and the insertion of a great number of
"professional" military personnel in most vertices of the force.

 Human Rights:
o Evidence:
The People enjoy basic human rights. They have the freedom to
speak out and express their feelings toward the government. This includes
their freedom of political affiliation. Greece also has a good economic
society, which means people have their right to own properties and start
their own means of livelihood. It also has a good record of import and
exports. In fact, they ranked 81st in the 2009 index of economic freedom
with a grade of 60.8+2. This is already a good grade for a developing
country like Greece. This means that civil liberty is enjoyed and well

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 expanded. Other conceptions of economic freedom include freedom from
want and the freedom to engage in collective bargaining.
 News Article: Freedom of Speech
Greek Truckers End Strike
ATHENS, (AP) -- Greek truckers announced on Sunday that they are ending their
seven-day strike and entering into talks with the government over opening up their
profession to non-union members.

The strike seriously disrupted supplies of fuel and other goods to markets, but the
government’s decision on Friday to commandeer the strikers’ vehicles resulted in most
gasoline pumps being filled again, even though many truckers refused to obey the
mobilization orders. Army vehicles have helped supply fuel to airports, hospitals and
power stations.

The head of the truckers’ union said members would resume work on Monday but
warned of further strikes if the government ”backs down from their commitments.” He
did not specify what those commitments were.

 Economic Freedom
What is economic freedom?
The highest form of economic freedom provides an absolute right of property
ownership, fully realized freedoms of movement for labor, capital, and goods, and an
absolute absence of coercion or constraint of economic liberty beyond the extent
necessary for citizens to protect and maintain liberty itself. In other words, individuals
are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, and that
freedom is both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state. 

distribution of global economic freedom

100-
79.9-70 69.9-60 59.9-50 49.9-0 N/A Ranking the
80
Countries
mostly mostly Sort by
free moderately free repressednot ranked
free unfree Score | Sort

Alphabetically
Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings
world rankcountryfreedom scorechange from
  
previous

1Hong Kong90.0+0.3 62Albania63.7+1.3 123India54.4+0.3

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2Singapore87.1-0.2 63Uganda63.5-0.3 124Rwanda54.20.0

3Australia82.6+0.4 64France63.3-1.4 125Suriname54.1-0.2

4Ireland82.2-0.3 65Romania63.2+1.5 126Tonga54.1N/A

5New Zealand82.0+1.2 66Belize63.00.0 127Mauritania53.9-1.2

6United States80.7-0.3 67Thailand63.0+0.7 128Niger53.8+1.0

7Canada80.5+0.3 68Slovenia62.9+2.7 129Malawi53.7+1.1

8Denmark79.6+0.4 69Mongolia62.8-0.8 130Bolivia53.6+0.5

9Switzerland79.4-0.1 70Dominica62.6N/A 131Indonesia53.4+0.2

10United Kingdom79.0-0.5 71Namibia62.4+1.0 132China53.2+0.1

11Chile78.3-0.3 72Colombia62.3+0.2 133Nepal53.2-0.9

134Bosnia and
12Netherlands77.0-0.4 73Madagascar62.2-0.2
Herzegovina53.1-0.8

74Kyrgyz
13Estonia76.4-1.5 135Ethiopia53.0+0.5
Republic61.8+0.7

14Iceland75.9+0.1 75Turkey61.6+1.6 136Cameroon53.0-1.3

15Luxembourg75.2+0.5 76Italy61.4-1.2 137Ecuador52.5-2.8

16Bahrain74.8+2.6 77Cape Verde61.3+3.4 138Argentina52.3-1.8

17Finland74.5-0.1 78Macedonia61.2+0.2 139Micronesia51.7N/A

18Mauritius74.3+1.7 79Paraguay61.0+1.0 140Djibouti51.3+0.1

19Japan72.8-0.2 80Fiji61.0-0.8 141Syria51.3+4.2

20Belgium72.1+0.5 81Greece60.8+0.2 142Equatorial Guinea51.3-0.3

21Macau72.0N/A 82Poland60.30.0 143Maldives51.3N/A

22Barbados71.5+0.2 83Kazakhstan60.1-1.0 144Guinea51.0-1.8

23Austria71.2-0.2 84Nicaragua59.8-1.0 145Vietnam51.0+0.6

24Cyprus70.8-0.5 85Burkina Faso59.5+3.8 146Russia50.8+1.0

25Germany70.5-0.1 86Samoa59.5N/A 147Haiti50.5+1.5

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26Sweden70.5-0.4 87Guatemala59.4-0.4 148Uzbekistan50.5-1.4

88Dominican
27Bahamas, The70.3-0.8 149Timor-Leste50.5N/A
Republic59.2+1.5

28Norway70.2+1.6 89Swaziland59.1+0.6 150Laos50.4+0.1

29Spain70.1+1.0 90Kenya58.7-0.6 151Lesotho49.7-2.5

30Lithuania70.0-1.0 91Honduras58.7-0.2 152Ukraine48.8-2.2

31Armenia69.90.0 92Vanuatu58.4N/A 153Burundi48.8+2.6

32Georgia69.8+0.5 93Tanzania58.3+1.8 154Togo48.7-0.2

33El Salvador69.8+1.3 94Montenegro58.2N/A 155Guyana48.4-0.4

156Central African
34Botswana69.7+1.5 95Lebanon58.1-1.9
Republic48.3-0.3

35Taiwan69.5-0.7 96Ghana58.1+1.0 157Liberia48.1N/A

36Slovak Republic69.4-0.6 97Egypt58.0-0.5 158Sierra Leone47.8-0.5

37Czech Republic69.4+1.2 98Tunisia58.0-2.1 159Seychelles47.8N/A

38Uruguay69.1+1.2 99Azerbaijan58.0+2.6 160Bangladesh47.5+3.3

39Saint Lucia68.8N/A 100Bhutan57.7N/A 161Chad47.5-0.4

40South Korea68.1-0.5 101Morocco57.7+2.1 162Angola47.0+0.1

41Trinidad and Tobago68.0-

102Pakistan57.0+1.4 163Solomon Islands46.0N/A
1.6

42Israel67.6+1.3 103Yemen56.9+3.1 164Kiribati45.7N/A

104Philippines,
43Oman67.0-0.3 165Guinea-Bissau45.4+1.1
The56.8+0.8

44Hungary66.8-0.8 105Brazil56.7+0.5 166Republic of Congo45.40.0

45Latvia66.6-1.7 106Cambodia56.6+0.8 167Belarus45.0-0.4

46Costa Rica66.4+2.2 107Algeria56.6+0.4 168Iran44.6-0.4

47Malta66.1+0.1 108Zambia56.6+0.4 169Turkmenistan44.2+0.8

48Qatar65.8+3.6 109Serbia56.6N/A 170São Tomé and

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 Príncipe43.8N/A

49Mexico65.8-0.3 110Senegal56.3-2.0 171Libya43.5+4.8

50Kuwait65.6-2.5 111Sri Lanka56.0-2.4 172Comoros43.3N/A

173Democratic Republic of
51Jordan65.4+1.3 112Gambia, The55.8-1.1
Congo42.8N/A

52Jamaica65.2-0.5 113Mozambique55.7+0.2 174Venezuela39.9-4.8

53Portugal64.9+1.0 114Mali55.6+0.1 175Eritrea38.5N/A

54United Arab
115Benin55.4+0.1 176Burma37.7-1.8
Emirates64.7+2.2

55Panama64.70.0 116Croatia55.1+1.0 177Cuba27.9+0.4

56Bulgaria64.6+0.9 117Nigeria55.10.0 178Zimbabwe22.7-6.7

57Peru64.6+0.9 118Gabon55.0+0.9 179North Korea2.0-1.0

58Malaysia64.6+0.7 119Côte d’Ivoire55.0+1.0 N/AAfghanistanN/AN/A

59Saudi Arabia64.3+1.8 120Moldova54.9-3.0 N/AIraqN/AN/A

60Saint Vincent and the 121Papua New

N/ALiechtensteinN/AN/A
Grenadines64.3N/A Guinea54.8N/A

61South Africa63.8+0.4 122Tajikistan54.6+0.2 N/ASudanN/AN/A

Country: Libya – Nondemocratic

 Type: Theocratic
 Variety: Military, Authoritative
o Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi also known simply as Colonel Gaddafi; born
1942 has been the leader of Libya since a coup in 1969.

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 From 1972, when Gaddafi relinquished the title of prime minister, he has been
accorded the honorifics "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the
Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the
Revolution" in government statements and the official press. With the death of
Omar Bongo of Gabon on 8 June 2009, he became the fourth longest serving of
all current national leaders. He is also the longest-serving ruler of Libya since Ali
Pasha Al Karamanli, who ruled between 1754 and 1795.

 Early life
Gaddafi was born in a Bedouin family near Sirt. Although this claim is not proven,
there is speculation that his biological father was Albert Preziosi, a Free French
Forces air officer of Corsican origins.
As an early follower of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his Arab
socialist and nationalism ideal, he took a part as a teenager in anti-Israeli
demonstrations during Suez Crisis.
An early conspirator, he begun his first plan to overthrow the monarchy while in
military college. He received further military training in the United Kingdom.
 In power
Military coup d'état
On 1 September 1969, a small group of junior military officers led by Gaddafi
staged a bloodless coup d'état against King Idris I, while he was in Kamena
Vourla, a Greek resort, for medical treatment. His nephew, the Crown Prince
Sayyid Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Sanussi, had been formally deposed by the
revolutionary army officers and put under house arrest; they abolished the
monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. [6] The slim 27-year-old
Gaddafi, with a taste for safari suits and sunglasses, then sought to become the
new "Che Guevara of the age". To accomplish this Gaddafi turned Libya into a
haven for anti-Western radicals, where any group, supposedly, could receive
weapons and financial assistance, provided they claimed to be fighting
imperialism. In 1967, after the 6 day war in Israel he decided to expel all jews
from Libya and confiscate all the property including bulldozing the jewish
cemetery. The Italian population in Libya almost disappeared after Gaddafi
ordered the expulsion of Italians in 1970.
A Revolutionary Command Council was formed to rule the country, with Gaddafi
as chairman. He added the title of prime minister in 1970, but gave up this title in
1972. Unlike some other military revolutionaries, Gaddafi did not promote himself
to the rank of general upon seizing power, but rather accepted a ceremonial
promotion from captain to colonel and has remained at this rank since then.
While at odds with Western military ranking for a colonel to rule a country and
serve as Commander-in-Chief of its military, in Gaddafi's own words Libya's
society is "ruled by the people", so he needs no more grandiose title or supreme
military rank.
 Islamic Socialism and pan-Arabism
Gaddafi based his new regime on a blend of Arab nationalism, aspects of the
welfare state, and what Gaddafi termed "popular democracy", or more commonly

13
 "direct, popular democracy". He called this system "Islamic socialism", and, while
he permitted private control over small companies, the government controlled the
larger ones. Welfare, "liberation" (or “emancipation” depending on the
translation), and education were emphasized. He also imposed a system of
Islamic morals, outlawing alcohol and gambling. Like previous revolutionary
figures of the 20th century such as Mao and his Little Red Book, Gaddafi outlined
his political philosophy in his Green Book to reinforce the ideals of this socialist-
Islamic state and published in three volumes between 1975 and 1979.
In 1977, Gaddafi proclaimed that Libya was changing its form of government
from a republic to a "jamahiriya" - a neologism that means "mass-state" or
"government by the masses". In theory, Libya became a direct democracy
governed by the people through local popular councils and communes. At the top
of this structure was the General People's Congress, with Gaddafi as secretary-
general. However, after only two years, Gaddafi gave up all of his governmental
posts in keeping with the new egalitarian philosophy.
From time to time, Gaddafi has responded to domestic and external opposition
with violence. His revolutionary committees called for the assassination of Libyan
dissidents living abroad in April 1980, with Libyan hit squads sent abroad to
murder them. On 26 April 1980, Gaddafi set a deadline of 11 June 1980 for
dissidents to return home or be "in the hands of the revolutionary committees".
Nine Libyans were murdered during that time, five of them in Italy.
 Governmental framework

Libya has no formal constitution. The country's political system is theoretically

based on the political philosophy in Muammar al-Qadhafi's Green Book, which
combines socialist and Islamic theories and rejects parliamentary democracy and
political parties.

 Colonel Qadhafi in power

For the first 7 years following the revolution, Colonel Qadhafi and 12 fellow army
officers, the Revolutionary Command Council, began a complete overhaul of
Libya's political system, society, and economy. On 2 March 1977, Qadhafi
convened a General People's Congress (GPC) to proclaim the establishment of
"people's power," change the country's name to the Socialist People's Libyan
Arab Jamahiriya, and to vest, theoretically, primary authority in the GPC. Today,
the official name of the country of Libya is Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah
ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma. Gaddafi remained the de facto chief of
state and secretary general of the GPC until 1980, when he gave up his office.
He continues to control all aspects of the Libyan Government through direct
appeals to the masses, a pervasive security apparatus, and powerful
revolutionary committees. Although he holds no formal office, Gaddafi exercises
absolute power with the assistance of a small group of trusted advisers, who
include relatives from his home base in the Sirt region, which lies between the
rival provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. After the revolution, Gaddafi took
increasing control of the government, but he also attempted to achieve greater

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 popular participation in local government. In 1973, he announced the start of a
"cultural revolution" in schools, businesses, industries, and public institutions to
oversee administration of those organizations in the public interest. The March
1977 establishment of "people's power" —with mandatory popular participation in
the selection of representatives to the GPC— was the culmination of this
process.

In the 1980s, competition grew between the official Libyan Government and
military hierarchies and the revolutionary committees. An abortive coup attempt
in May 1984 apparently mounted by Libyan exiles with internal support, led to a
short-lived reign of terror in which thousands were imprisoned and interrogated.
An unknown number were executed. Qadhafi used the revolutionary committees
to search out alleged internal opponents following the coup attempt, thereby
accelerating the rise of more radical elements inside the Libyan power hierarchy.

In 1988, faced with rising public dissatisfaction with shortages in consumer goods
and setbacks in Libya's war with Chad, Qadhafi began to curb the power of the
revolutionary committees and to institute some domestic reforms. The regime
released many political prisoners and eased restrictions on foreign travel by
Libyans. Private businesses were again permitted to operate.

In the late 1980s, Gaddafi began to pursue an anti-Fundamentalist Islamic policy

domestically, viewing fundamentalism as a potential rallying point for opponents
of the regime. Ministerial positions and military commanders are frequently
shuffled or placed under temporary house arrest to diffuse potential threats to
Qadhafi's authority.

Despite these measures, internal dissent continues. Qadhafi's security forces

launched a preemptive strike at alleged coup plotters in the military and among
the Warfallah tribe in October 1993. Widespread arrests and government
reshufflings followed, accompanied by public "confessions" from regime
opponents and allegations of torture and executions. The military, once Qadhafi's
strongest supporters, became a potential threat in the 1990s. In 1993, following a
failed coup attempt that implicated senior military officers, Qadhafi began to
purge the military periodically, eliminating potential rivals and inserting his own
loyal followers in their place.

 Religion in Libya
By far the predominant religion in Libya is Islam with 97% of the population
associating with the faith. The vast majority of Libyan Muslims adhere to Sunni
Islam, which provides both a spiritual guide for individuals and a keystone for
government policy, but a minority (between 5 and 10%) adhere to Ibadism (a
branch of Kharijism), above all in the Jebel Nefusa and the town of Zuwarah.

Other than the overwhelming majority of Sunni Muslims, there are also small
Christian communities, composed exclusively of foreigners. Coptic Orthodox

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 Christianity, which is the Christian Church of Egypt, is the largest and most
historical Christian denomination in Libya. There are over 60,000 Egyptian Copts
in Libya, as they comprise over 1% of the population alone. [2] There are an
estimated 40,000 Roman Catholics in Libya who are served by two Bishops, one
in Tripoli (serving the Italian community) and one in Benghazi (serving the
Maltese community). There is also a small Anglican community, made up mostly
of African immigrant workers in Tripoli; it is part of the Anglican Diocese of Egypt.
Libya was until recent times the home of one of the oldest Jewish communities in
the world, dating back to at least 300 BC. A series of pogroms beginning in
November 1945 lasted for almost three years, drastically reducing Libya's Jewish
population. In 1948, about 38,000 Jews remained in the country. Upon Libya's
independence in 1951, most of the Jewish community emigrated. After the Suez
Crisis in 1956, all but about 100 Jews were forced to flee.
 Human rights in Libya

According to the U.S. Department of State's annual human rights report for 2004,
Libya's authoritarian regime continued to have a poor record.

Some of the numerous and serious abuses on the part of the government include
poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention, prisoners held
incommunicado, and political prisoners held for many years without charge or
trial. The judiciary is controlled by the state, and there is no right to a fair public
trial. Libyans do not have the right to change their government. Fathi Eljahmi is a
Libyan political prisoner who has received considerable attention in the west.

Freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion are restricted.

Independent human rights organizations are prohibited.

Domestic violence against women appears to be widespread, and there have

been reports of trafficking in persons. Ethnic and tribal minorities suffer
discrimination, and the state continues to restrict the labor rights of foreign
workers.

One issue is that of six foreign health workers (five Bulgarian nurses and one
Palestinian doctor) who were accused of deliberately infecting 426 children with
HIV-tainted blood in a hospital in 1999. On May 6, 2004, a Libyan court
sentenced the workers to death. They were eventually freed in 2007, following
European diplomatic mobilisation.

The government also constantly makes illegal land confiscations, taking away
property from the ordinary citizen. Citizens receive little or no compensation for
these land grabs which the government justifies as being road expansions and
pipe space for the Great Manmade River.

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 In 2005 Freedom House rated political rights in Libya as "7" (1 representing the
most free and 7 the least free rating), civil liberties as "7" and gave it the freedom
rating of "Not Free".

o In Sept., 1969, a group of army officers led by 27-year-old Col. Muammar

al-Qaddafi ousted King Idris in a coup. The 1951 constitution was
abrogated, and government was placed in the hands of a 12-member
Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) headed by Qaddafi, who became
prime minister. In mid-1972, Qaddafi turned the post of prime minister
over to Abdul Salam Jallud, but he remained the RCC's president, the
country's most important political and military office.
 Anti-Western Culture
o Muammar al-Qaddafi was particularly concerned with reducing Western
influences; as part of that effort, the British were forced (1970) to evacuate
their remaining bases in Libya, and the United States was required to
abandon Wheelus Field, a U.S. air force base located near Tripoli. Libya's
foreign policy was generally reoriented away from N Africa and toward the
heart of the Middle East.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_freedom#Economic_and_political_freedom

http://sanooaung.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/2009-index-of-economic-freedom-ranking-
the-countries/

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/world/europe/02greece.html?_r=1&ref=greece

http://sanooaung.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/2009-index-of-economic-freedom-ranking-
the-countries/

http://mlahanas.de/Greece/Info/PoliticsOfGreece.html

Libya. (n.d.). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Retrieved August 04,
2010, from Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/libya

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