Stamps and the Postal History of Libya

Libya is a country located in North Africa, and bordered by a number of African countries including Chad, Niger and Egypt. The modern Libya that people know is actually a former colony of Italy and was once part of the Ottoman Empire. The region was formally given to Italy in 1912. The first stamps in the history of the country were the Italian stamps that were overprinted with the word ‘Libia’, released to the public in 1912. All stamps that were used in then-Libia were made by Italian Government Printing Works. The practice of using Italian stamps for Libia continued until the Second World War and only stopped when the region was controlled by the British Army. When the British forces controlled Libia, a new set of stamps were issued, and these stamps were overprinted by the initials MEF or Middle East Forces. These stamps were used between 1943 and 1948. Starting July 1, 1948, a new set of stamps were used in the area, and these stamps were overprinted with the words ‘M.A. TRIPOLITANIA’.

Kingdom of Libya released official stamps

As the war ended the British authorities recognized the rule of Amir Mohammed Idris Al-Senussi and decided to give the Emir of Cyrenaica internal autonomy. And on December 24, 1951, Tripolitana, Fezzan and Cyrenaica were united to form the Kingdom of Libya. The establishment of modern Libya paved the way for the introduction of modern and new stamps, and many of these stamps were introduced to the public on December 24, 1951. These stamps were the overprinted stamps of Cyrenaica. For this batch of stamps, the government decided on three types of overprints to represent the three provinces that helped form the Kingdom of Libya. The first batch of stamps with the words ‘Kingdom of Libya’ were printed and introduced into the market on April 15, 1952. These stamps were then followed by stamps with different inscriptions, and they remained in circulation until 1969. Some of the inscriptions used on the second batches of stamps include ‘Libya’, ‘Libye’ and ‘Libia’.

In 1969, the inscriptions on the stamps were changed as well. This was the time when King Idris I was deposed. The stamps during this time carried the letters ‘L.A.R’ and ‘LAR’. The inscriptions were then changed to ‘Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya' accompanied by its equivalent words or meaning in the Arabic language.