National Front for the Salvation of Libya

National Front for the Salvation of Libya
الجبهة الوطنية لإنقاذ ليبيا
Dates of operation7 October 1981 (1981-10-07) – 9 May 2012 (2012-05-09)
HeadquartersKhartoum (until 1985)
Active regionsLibya
Western Europe (1980s)
IdeologyAnti-Gaddafism
Liberalism
Progressivism
Political positionCentre-left
Allies Sudan (until 1985)
 Chad (until 1990)
Iraq (until 1990)
 Saudi Arabia
 United States
 France (limited)
 United Kingdom
 Zaire (until 1997)
 Israel (alleged)
Non-states allies
Al-Burkan
Muslim Brotherhood in Libya
Opponents Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Battles and warsChadian–Libyan War
Bab al-Azizia mutiny
Libyan civil war (2011)

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 press, and the separation of powers. During the 1980s, it pursued a campaign of armed opposition to the Gaddafi regime and made several coup attempts, the most notable being its 1984 armed assault on Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizia compound in Tripoli. After the failure of this and several other coup attempts the group largely abandoned militancy, and instead used peaceful tactics to promote reform in Libya; in 2005, the NFSL joined with six other groups to form the National Conference for the Libyan Opposition.

With the fall of the Gaddafi regime in the 2011 Libyan Civil War, the NFSL's main long-term goal was fulfilled. Consequently, after the war's end, the NFSL dissolved itself and was replaced by the National Front Party, which won 3 seats in the 2012 General National Congress election. The NFSL's founder and former leader, Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf was appointed chairman of the General National Congress, effectively making him interim head of state.