The Italy-Libya Agreement of 2 October 1956. The Bank of Italy’s Assets in Libya after the World War II

Familiarity with the economic interests between the Bank of Italy and Libya can be a good platform for a deeper understanding of the relations between two states and two peoples in the current global context. This research was conducted mainly through documentary sources, kept in the Bank of Italy’s historical Archive, collected by the Bank and its branches. These had been called upon to operate in Libya by the Italian government during Italy’s colonial period, before World War II, and by the international organizations, after the end of the war, due to the specific skills and experience acquired in the area. The British occupation of Libya in 1943 led inevitably to a series of social, political and economic consequences, including, among others, the Anglo-Italian agreement of 1951, which called for the seizure and custody by the British authorities of different Italian companies that operated in that country. The branches of the Bank of Italy were closed due, mainly, to a monetary situation made unstable by the introduction of the British military authority pound which put them, in fact, out of business. The Bank of Italy’s Libyan branches reopened in 1951, when the United Nations, in accordance with Resolution no. 388, declared Libya an independent and democratic State. This independence ushered a period of sour relations with Italy, with negative repercussions especially for the Italian community in Libya. Libya, Italy’s third possession, whose destiny was decided by the UN, became an independent kingdom, by combining Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan. The new kingdom was given to the Sanusi dynasty, originally from Cyrenaica, which had a long history of opposition against Italian penetration and had eventually joined the Allied forces. Independence was proclaimed in 1951 with a federal Constitution that tried to take into account the character of a region, Tripolitania, more advanced and attracted to Tunisia and that of Cyrenaica, more backward and rather sensitive to Egypt’s influence. Among the many disputes, one was finally settled: in 1956, an agreement was entered into between Libya and Italy which contemplated, under article 4, “the transfer to the Libyan State of the movable and immovable properties located in Libya which were owned by the Italian State or by autonomous state companies.” This paper will try to clarify the situation of the Bank of Italy’s properties and the reason why they were not included in this and in other agreements and considered as state-owned properties. Moreover, it will explore the question of Magazzini Generali, a company established by a gubernatorial decree of 1924 to develop commercial activities. In fact, this company was initially defined as a parastatal entity by the British authorities, which seized its assets. Also for these assets, it was necessary to analyse carefully their legal nature. The question of Italian assets deteriorated when, after he took power, Muammar Qaddafi enacted the law of 1970 whereby all Italians were expelled from, and prohibited to return to, Libya and all their assets seized.