Libya · Government
Government and administration in Libya
How the executive, legislature and administrative state are organised, and which body is responsible for what.
The three branches
- Head of state — Presidency Council
- Established under the 2021 political agreement; recognition is contested.
- Executive — Government of National Unity and rival eastern government
- Two administrations have claimed executive authority since 2022.
- Legislature — House of Representatives and High Council of State
- The 2015 agreement made the latter a consultative chamber; the relationship remains disputed.
- Judiciary — Supreme Judicial Council
- Continues to administer courts across lines of control.
How legislation is made
There is no single functioning legislative process. The House of Representatives passes laws that the High Council of State contests, and the rival administrations issue decrees within their areas of control. Whether a given instrument is law therefore depends on which authority is recognised, which is exactly why this profile is marked as requiring research rather than described as settled.
Enforcement institutions
- Office of the Attorney General
- Has continued to operate and to bring prosecutions across lines of control.
- Ministry of Interior police forces
- Duplicated between administrations; coexist with armed groups performing policing functions.
- Central Bank of Libya
- Reunified in 2023 after years of parallel operation; controls oil revenue flows.
- Audit Bureau
- Publishes reports on public spending and has documented parallel institutional expenditure.
Government bodies and regulators
Found something out of date on Libya · Government?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.