| Date 2007 | March 2 |
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| Date 2008 | March 2 |
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| Date 2009 | March 2 |
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| Date 2010 | March 2 |
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| Date 2011 | March 2 |
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| Significance | Jamahiriya is an Arabic term generally translated as "state of the masses." The term, coined by Muammar al-Qaddafi, is intended to be a generic term describing a type of state, like "republic" or "kingdom." In practice, the only state to which the term has ever been applied is Libya, of which Qaddafi is the de facto ruler. The word was derived from jumhuriya, which is the usual Arabic translation of the English republic. It was coined by changing the component jumhur - "public" - to its plural form, jamahir - "the masses". The Libyan government states that Libya is a direct democracy without political parties, governed by its populace through local councils. Because this system is ostensibly unique to Libya, the term Jamahiriya was coined to describe it. Many other nations consider Libya a military dictatorship. |
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