Key figures in post-Gaddafi Libya

People flash victory signs as they gather at Martyrs Square after Friday prayers in Tripoli September 2

Col Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years, and allowed no opposition to his rule. After the collapse of his regime, several organisations and individuals have come to the fore, jockeying for position to fill the power vacuum.
National Transitional Council (NTC)

The NTC, a disparate movement with its roots in eastern Libya, has risen to pre-eminence in post-Gaddafi politics.

Residents of towns and cities in eastern Libya formed the NTC as an interim rebel administration in the early days of the uprising against Col Gaddafi.

It is now recognised as the nation's sole legitimate authority by most of the world's major powers, and has moved its headquarters to the capital, Tripoli.

But NTC leaders have made it clear that the organisation is an interim body that will oversee a transition to democratic elections, expected in 2013.
Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil - NTC chairman
Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil in Beyda, Libya (4 March 2011)

Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil served as justice minister in the Gaddafi regime, and was sent to Benghazi in the early days of the revolt to deal with the protesters.

But he quit on 21 February in protest at "the excessive use of violence against unarmed protesters" and within days became chairman of the NTC.

Mr Abdul Jalil worked for more than two decades as a judge, during which time he gained a reputation for consistently ruling against the government.

Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, brought him into the government as justice minister in 2007 to cast himself in a more reform-minded light.

Mr Abdul Jalil won praise from human rights groups and Western powers for his efforts to reform Libya's criminal code during his tenure at the ministry.

On 22 August, as the rebels battled Col Gaddafi's supporters for control of Tripoli, Mr Abdul Jalil declared that the "Gaddafi era is over".

He is expected to play a prominent role in any future government and has set out his vision of a nation guided by moderate Islam.

"We are a Muslim nation, with a moderate Islam, and we will maintain that," he recently told crowds of his supporters in Tripoli.
Mahmoud Jibril - head of NTC Executive Board
Mahmoud Jibril

Sometimes referred to as the NTC's prime minister, US-educated Mahmoud Jibril is head of its Executive Board and in the early days of the rebellion was the most prominent voice of the NTC on the international stage.

He is reputedly a capable technocrat and is said to make many of the day-to-day decisions involved in running the NTC.

A leaked US diplomatic cable from November 2009 written by the US ambassador to Libya, Gene Cretz, described Mr Jibril as "a serious interlocutor who 'gets' the US perspective".

But his leadership credentials have been under strain, as he has appeared to alienate some NTC supporters with his plans for the transitional authority.

A recent speech where he suggested bringing the various anti-Gaddafi militias under NTC control received a cool response from military leaders.

Before the uprising, he was involved in a project called "Libyan Vision" with other intellectuals, which sought to establish a democratic state.

He later became the head of the Libyan National Planning Council. Then in 2009, he was appointed chairman of the National Economic Development Board (NEDB), which was founded in the mid-2000s to encourage investment and economic growth in Libya. He reported directly to the prime minister.

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