The Libyan National Democratic Front ( ar, الجبهة الليبية الوطنية الديمقراطية) was a

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

n political opposition organization. The organization was founded in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in August 1980,Shaked, Haim and Daniel Dishon (eds.).
Middle East Contemporary Survey
', Vol. 8, 1983-84. p. 583 Libyan Constitutional Union.
The Libyan Constitutional Union: Its Establishment and Development
' emerging out of the Democratic Libya Committee. The founding meeting elected a

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

and adopted the programmes of the organization. The organization coined the phrase "national democratic" which meant protecting the rights of the poor and middle classes, absolute national independence and democratic means of government. Some of its members had a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

ideological orientation. Compared to other Libyan opposition groups at the time, the Libyan National Democratic Front had a high degree of ideological and organizational consistency. The organization published the magazine ''al-Watan'' ('The Fatherland') on a regular basis. The first issue of ''al-Watan'' was issued in September 1980. The organization had a very small membership, and did not grow much beyond its founding core. It did not expand its activities inside Libya. Key members included Dr. Adulrahim Saleh, Dr. Ali Tarhouni, Mahmoud Shammam (as of 2011 the Head of Information of the rebel

National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council of Libya ( ar, المجلس الوطني الإنتقالي '), sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, was the ''de facto'' government of Libya for a period during and after the Libyan Civil War ...

), Usama Endar, Hussien Dernawi, Mohamed Derbi, Salah Almegherbi, Fathi Al-Baaja, Sunussi Shaaliya, Dr. Mohamed Malhouf and Hasan Al-Ashhab, among others.''Jakarta Globe''.
Zuma in Libya as NATO eyes endgame amid defections
'' The Libyan National Democratic Front advocated popular mobilization and thus creating revolutionary consciousness necessary to take on the Gaddafi government. The organization condemned all forms of exploitation and

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

, and called for the interests of oppressed sectors to be defended.

National Front for the Salvation of Libya The National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL) was a political opposition group active during the rule of the Gaddafi regime in Libya. It was formed in 1981 and called for major liberalising reforms such as democratic elections, a free pre ...

br>البديل السياسي في ليبيا.. ودولة ما بعد "الثورة"
/ref> Some of its members left the party and aligned themselves with efforts of unifying the Libyan opposition behind Major Abdul Monem Alhouni. The grouping took part in the General Conference of National Democratic Forces in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

in November 1992. The group did not sign on the effort which led to the failed coup which was launched from Algeria. Core members were still active until the fall of the Gaddafi government in 2011. Mr. Dernawi was jailed for four months by the Gaddafi government from the middle of March until the middle June 2011. Mr. Endar is a founder of one of the post-Gaddafi political organizations based in Tripoli (Democratic National Front).

References

{{Libyan political parties Defunct political parties in Libya Political parties established in 1980 Socialist parties in Libya 1980 establishments in Libya Political parties with year of disestablishment missing