During the Moammar Gadhafi era in Libya, the regime was intolerable of any opposition, political parties were illegal and free press did not exist. Many Libyans who opposed the regime left the country and lived abroad. Many settled in the United States and Europe, mostly as political refugees. As the years passed, many of them gained the citizenships of their host countries.
However, in the late 1990s, as the country was opening up and relations with the West were improving, many such individuals returned to Libya — except the high-profile opposition leaders who were afraid to come back to Libya. After the regime was overthrown with NATO help in October 2011, most of the opposition leaders came back to the country and held high-ranking positions, including prime minister, speaker of parliament and even directors of the security apparatus in the new Libya.
