Central Bank of Libya

The Central Bank of Libya is the country's monetary authority, wholly owned by the Libyan state, with its head office in Tripoli and branches in Benghazi, Sabha and Sirte. It was founded under Act No. 30 of 1955 and began operating on 1 April 1956 as the National Bank of Libya, was renamed the Bank of Libya in 1963 and later became the Central Bank of Libya. The bank handles Libya's oil income.

Libya has had rival central bank leaderships twice: a first split during the 2011 civil war and a second from September 2014. A unification plan was signed on 20 January 2022 and the bank announced reunification on 20 August 2023. After the 2024 leadership crisis, Naji Issa became governor on 3 October 2024 under a House of Representatives and High Council of State deal brokered by the UN mission. He submitted his resignation in August 2026.

On 22 October 2026 the eastern House of Representatives accepted his resignation and named Fauzi Abokhzam to act as governor. Parliament appointed him on 2 November 2026 by 78 of the 90 members present, he took the oath on 4 November and the formal handover took place on 8 November 2026. Reports at the time said the Tripoli-based High Council of State had not commented on the appointment. The bank announced the first meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee on 10 November 2026.

• Monetary policy and currency issue
• Management of the state oil income
• Supervision of Libyan banks

• Fauzi Abokhzam Governor (appointed November 2026)
• Naji Issa Governor, October 2024 to October 2026 (predecessor)

1. 1955Founded under Act No. 30
2. 1956Begins operating as the National Bank of Libya (1 April)
3. 1963Renamed the Bank of Libya under Act No. 4
4. 2011First leadership split during the civil war
5. 2014Second split begins (September)
6. 2021Governors of the rival leaderships meet in Tunisia and agree to start unification (6 December)
7. 2022Four-stage unification plan signed, with Deloitte overseeing it (20 January)
8. 2023Reunification announced (20 August)
9. 2024Sadiq al-Kabir leaves after a leadership crisis (August); Naji Issa becomes governor (3 October)
10. 2026Naji Issa resigns (August); House names Fauzi Abokhzam (22 October), appoints him (2 November), swears him in (4 November) and the handover is signed (8 November); first Monetary Policy Committee meeting (10 November)