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Timeline of key events in U.S.-Libya relations

Created by voaweb on Feb 24, 2011

Last updated: 03/03/11 at 05:40 PM

Tags: us-libya relations

• US Evacuates Citizens Amid Unrest
  2011

  Escalating violence during the uprising led U.S. companies to recall executives and employees and contribute to a surge in oil prices. The State Department said there were about 6,000 U.S. citizens in Libya, mostly those with dual citizenship. The State Department said there were about 600 U.S. citizens working in the oil industry and related industries there.
  http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Other-Nations-Send-Ferries-Planes-to-Libya-for-Evacuations-116720514.html

• Bilateral Trade
  2010

  U.S. exported $665 million worth of goods to Libya and imported $2.1 billion in merchandise.

• Secretary of State's Historic Trip
  2008

  U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made historic visit which the State Department said signals a "new phase" in U.S.-Libya relations. Texas-based Exxon Mobil signed $97 million deal with the Libyan National Oil Corp.

• US-Libya Diplomacy Resumed
  2006

  The U.S. restored full diplomatic ties with Libya, helping to pave the way for business agreements between the two countries. The U.S. ambassador arrived three years later.

• Libya Offers Compensation to Victims' Families
  2003

  Libya took responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and signed a deal to compensate families of the victims. The U.N. Security Council lifted sanctions against the country. In December, Libya said it would abandon programs to develop weapons of mass destruction.

• Suspect Gets Life Imprisonment
  2001

  On January 31, a Scottish court convicted Abdel Baset al-Megrahi of the Lockerbie bombing and sentenced him to life in prison. The other suspect was found not guilty.

• Lockerbie Bombing Suspects Handed Over
  1999

  Libya handed over two people suspected of involvement in Lockerbie bombing. The U.N. suspended sanctions against Libya but did not lift them.

• Sanctions Imposed
  1992

  The U.N. imposed sanctions on Libya in an effort to force the government to hand over two of its citizens wanted for the Lockerbie bombing.

• Lockerbie Bombing
  1988

  Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 11 people on the ground and more than 250 people on board, most of them Americans. Libyan suspects were tied to the bombing.

• Attack on Disco in Berlin
  1986

  Libya was blamed for the deadly April 5 bombing of a disco in Berlin frequented by U.S. military personnel. On April 14, U.S. President Ronald Reagan ordered a strike that kills dozens of people, including Mr. Gadhafi's adopted daughter.

• Libyan Fighter Jets Shot Down
  1981

  U.S. shot down two Libyan fighter jets flying over the Gulf of Sirte, which Libya claims was its territorial water.

• US Embassy Attacked
  1979

  An angry pro-Iranian mob of Libyans attacked and set fire to the U.S. embassy in Tripoli while chanting support for the Islamic government that took power in Iran earlier in the year.

• Post-Gadhafi Coup D'etat
  1969 to 1970

  Moammar Gadhafi led a coup to depose the monarchy on September 1, 1969. The new Libyan government closed U.S. military installations and U.S. troops left the country in stages.