Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in the context of "National Transitional Council"

The Libyan Civil War, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya which was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups attempting to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Zawiya on 8 August 2009 and finally ignited by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces who fired on the crowd. The protests escalated into a rebellion spreading across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.

The United Nations Security Council passed an initial resolution on 26 February, freezing the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and restricting their travel, and referred the matter to the International Criminal Court for investigation. In early March, Gaddafi's forces rallied, pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities before reaching Benghazi. A further UN resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, and to use "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks on civilians, which turned into a bombing campaign by the forces of NATO against Libyan military installations and vehicles. The Gaddafi government then announced a ceasefire, but fighting and bombing continued. Throughout the conflict, rebels rejected government offers of a ceasefire and efforts by the African Union to end the fighting because the plans set forth did not include the removal of Gaddafi.

This article lists the heads of state of Libya since the country's independence in 1951.

Libya has been in a tumultuous state since the start of the Arab Spring-related Libyan crisis in 2011; the crisis resulted in the collapse of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the killing of Muammar Gaddafi, amidst the First Civil War and the foreign military intervention. The crisis was deepened by the factional violence in the aftermath of the First Civil War, resulting in the outbreak of the Second Civil War in 2014. The control over the country is currently split between the internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli and the rival Government of National Stability (GNS)—supported by the House of Representatives (HoR)—in Tobruk, their respective supporters, as well as various jihadist groups and tribal elements controlling parts of the country.

The Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Arabic: الأخ القائد ومرشد الثورة الجماهرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الإشتراكية العظمى) was a title held by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who claimed to be merely a symbolic figurehead of the country's official governance structure. However, critics long described him as a dictator, referring to his position as the de facto former political office, despite the Libyan state's denial of him holding any power.

The Libyan Army (Arabic: الجيش الليبي) was the branch of the Armed Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Libyan Arab Republic and the Kingdom of Libya responsible for ground warfare.