Idris of Libya

Idris
King of Libya
Reign 24 December 1951 – 1 September 1969 (&1000000000000001700000017 years, &10000000000000251000000251 days)
Spouse Fatima el-Sharif
Full name
Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi
House Senussi
Father Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi
Mother Aisha bint Ahmad al-Syrte
Born 12 March 1889
Al-Jaghbub, Libya
Died 25 May 1983(1983-05-25) (aged 94)
Cairo,  Egypt
Burial Jannat al-Baqi, Medina,  Saudi Arabia

Idris, GBE (Arabic: إدريس الأول‎), (b. Sayyid Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi 12 March 1889 – 25 May 1983),[1] was the first and only king of Libya, reigning from 1951 to 1969, and the Chief of the Senussi Muslim order.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Born at Al-Jaghbub, the headquarters of the Senussi movement, the son of Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Senussi and his fifth wife Aisha bint Ahmad al-Syrte, Idris was a grandson of Sayyid Muhammad bin 'Ali as-Senussi, the founder of the Senussi Muslim sufi order. He became Chief of the Senussi order in 1916 following the abdication of his cousin Sayyid Ahmed Sharif es Senussi. He was recognized by the British under the new title Emir of the territory of Cyrenaica, a position also confirmed by the Italians in 1920. He was also installed as Emir of Tripolitania on 28 July 1922.

Idris spent the early part of his career attempting to negotiate independence for Cyrenaica.[2] In 1922, following the Italian military campaigns against Libya, he went into exile. Egypt then served as his base in a guerrilla war against the colonial Italian authorities.[3]

During World War II

During World War II, Idris supported the United Kingdom and brought the Cyrenaican nationalists to fight alongside the Allies against the Axis. With the defeat of the German and Italian forces led by Erwin Rommel, he was finally able to return to his capital, Benghazi, as Emir of Cyrenaica and form an official government.

King of Libya

With British backing, Idris as-Senussi proclaimed an independent Emirate of Cyrenaica in 1949. He was also invited to become Emir of Tripolitania, another of the three traditional regions that now constitute modern Libya (the third being Fezzan).[4] By accepting he began the process of uniting Libya under a single monarchy. A constitution was enacted in 1949 and adopted in October 1951. A National Congress elected Idris as King of Libya, and as Idris I he proclaimed the independence of the United Kingdom of Libya as a sovereign state on 24 December 1951.

From Benghazi, Idris led the team negotiating with the United Kingdom and the United Nations over independence, which was achieved on 24 December 1951 with the proclamation of the federal United Libyan Kingdom with Idris as king. In 1963 the constitution was revised and the state became a unitary state as the Kingdom of Libya.

To the chagrin of Arab nationalists at home and supporters of Pan-Arabism in neighbouring states, Idris maintained close ties with the United Kingdom and the United States, even after the former intervened against Egypt during the 1956 Suez Crisis. Another threat to his kingdom was his failure to produce a surviving male heir to succeed to the throne. In 1956, Idris designated his brother's son, Hasan as-Senussi, as crown prince.

The economy prospered from its oil fields and the presence of the United States Air Force's Wheelus Air Base near Tripoli, but the king's health began to falter and the crown prince assumed a greater role in the government and from time to time acted as regent. On 4 August 1969 Idris signed an Instrument of Abdication in favour of Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi, to take effect on 2 September that year.

Overthrow and exile

Further information: Libyan coup d'etat (1969)

On 1 September 1969, while Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, he was deposed in a coup by a group of Libyan army officers under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi. The monarchy was abolished and a republic proclaimed.[5] The coup pre-empted Idris' abdication and the succession of his heir the following day.

From Turkey, he and the queen travelled to Kamena Vourla, Greece, by ship and went into exile in Egypt.

After the coup of 1969, Idris was placed on trial in absentia in the "Libyan People's Court" and sentenced to death in November 1971.

Idris died at the Sultan Palace in Dokki, Cairo in 1983, aged 94. He was buried at Jannat al-Baqi, Medina, Saudi Arabia.

2011 uprising and civil war

Although the king died in exile and most Libyans were born after his reign, during the 2011 Libyan uprising, many demonstrators opposing Colonel Gaddafi carried portraits of the king, especially in the traditional Sanussi stronghold of Cyrenaica. The tricolour flag used during the era of the monarchy was frequently used as a symbol of the revolution and was re-adopted by the National Transitional Council as the official flag of Libya.[6]

Family

Idris married five times:

  1. At Kufra, 1896/1897, his cousin, Sayyida Aisha binti Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif al-Sanussi (b. at Jaghbub, 1873; d. at Kufra, 1905 or 1907), eldest daughter of Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Sanussi, by his fourth wife, Fatima, daughter of 'Umar bin Muhammad al-Ashhab, of Fezzan, by whom he had one son who died in infancy;
  2. At Kufra, 1907 (div. 1922), his cousin, Sakina, daughter of Muhammad as-Sharif, by whom he had one son and one daughter, both of whom died in infancy;
  3. At Kufra, 1911 (div. 1915), Nafisa, daughter of Ahmad Abu al-Qasim al-Isawi, by whom he had one son who died in infancy;
  4. At Siwa, Egypt, 1931, Sayyida Fatima al-Shi'fa binti Sayyid Ahmad as-Sharif al-Sanussi Fatima el-Sharif (b. at Kufra, 1910; d. at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt, 3 October 2009, bur. Jannat al-Baqi, Medina, Saudi Arabia), fifth daughter of Field Marshal H.H. Sayyid Ahmad as-Sharif Pasha bin Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif al-Sanussi, 3rd Grand Sanussi, by his second wife, Khadija, daughter of Ahmad al-Rifi, by whom he had one son who died in infancy;
  5. At the Libyan Embassy, Cairo, 6 June 1955 (div. 20 May 1958), Aliya Khanum Effendi (b. at Guney, Egypt, 1913), daughter of Abdul-Qadir Lamlun Asadi Pasha.

For two short periods (1911–22 and 1955–58) Idris kept two wives, marrying his fifth wife with a view to providing a direct heir.

Idris fathered five sons and one daughter, none of whom survived childhood. He and Queen Fatima adopted a daughter, Suleima, an Algerian orphan, who survived them.

Honours

King Idris was Grand Master of the following Libyan Orders[7]:

He was a recipient of the following foreign honors:

References

  1. ^ http://www.royalark.net/Libya/libya6.htm
  2. ^ Vandewalle, Dirk (2006). A history of modern Libya. Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0521850483.
  3. ^ Oliver, Roland; Atmore, Anthony (2005). Africa since 1800. Cambridge University Press. p. 236.
  4. ^ Diller, Daniel; Moore, John (1995). The Middle East. Congressional Quarterly. p. 308.
  5. ^ Bloodless coup in Libya. BBC News On This Day. September 1, 1969.
  6. ^ "The liberated east: Building a new Libya". The Economist. 24 February 2011. http://www.economist.com/. Retrieved 26 February 2011. 
  7. ^ "Libya: Senussi Dynasty Orders and Decorations". royalark.com. http://www.royalark.net/Libya/libya7.html. Retrieved 12 June 2011. 

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Idris_of_Libya Idris of Libya] at Wikimedia Commons
Idris of Libya
Senussi dynasty
Born: 12 March 1889 Died: 25 May 1983
Regnal titles
New title
New states created
 Emir of Cyrenaica
1920 – 24 December 1951		 Titles dissolved
Countries merged into Kingdom of Libya
Emir of Tripolitania
1922 – 24 December 1951
King of Libya
24 December 1951 – 1 September 1969		 Vacant
Political offices
New title
 Head of State of Libya
24 December 1951 – 1 September 1969		 Succeeded by
Muammar Gaddafi
as de facto leader of Libya
Religious titles
Preceded by
Ahmed Sharif es Senussi		 Chief of the Senussi order
1916 – 4 August 1969		 Succeeded by
Crown Prince Hasan
Titles in pretence
Loss of title
 — TITULAR —
King of Libya
1–2 September 1969		 Succeeded by
Crown Prince Hasan