Idris I

Idris I (born March 13, 1890, Jarabub, Cyrenaica, Libya—died May 25, 1983, Cairo, Egypt) was the first king of Libya when that country gained its independence in 1951.

In 1902 Idris succeeded his father as head of the Sanūsiyyah, an Islamic tariqa, or brotherhood, centred in Cyrenaica. Because he was a minor, active leadership first passed to his cousin, Aḥmad al-Sharīf. Ruling in his own right after 1916, Idris’s first problem was to deal with the Italians, who in 1911 had invaded Libya in an effort to create a North African empire but were unable to extend their authority much beyond the coast. By the peace of Arcoma (1917), Idris secured a cease-fire and, in effect, confirmation of his own authority in inland Cyrenaica. A further agreement in 1919 established a Cyrenaician parliament and a financial grant to Idris and his followers. When Idris proved unable and unwilling to disarm his tribal supporters as Italy demanded, however, the Italians invaded the Tripolitanian hinterland in the spring of 1922. Tripolitanian tribesmen offered to submit to Idris’s authority in the hope of securing greater unity and more effective resistance. Idris saw resistance as futile, however, and he went into exile in Egypt, where he remained until British forces occupied Libya in 1942 during World War II (1939–45).

Idris continued to direct his followers from Egypt, not returning to Libya permanently until 1947, when he would head an official government. His main support came from conservative tribesmen, who thought in terms of a Sanūsī government ruling over Cyrenaica, but younger and more urbanized elements looked to a union of the Libyan provinces. The issue was finally determined by the United Nations in November 1949, when the General Assembly resolved that the future of Cyrenaica, Fezzan, and Tripolitania should be decided upon by representatives of the three areas meeting in a national assembly. This assembly established a constitutional monarchy and offered the throne to Idris. Libya declared its independence in December 1951.

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Under Idris the throne had a preponderance of influence over the parliament and absolute control over the army. The government was an oligarchy of wealthy townsmen and powerful tribal leaders who divided the important administrative positions among themselves and supported the king. This situation, along with the external support of Western powers and the internal military support of his loyal tribesmen, enabled Idris to control the affairs of the central government. Many of the younger army officers and members of the growing urban middle class, however, resented Idris’s socially conservative policies and his aloofness from the growing currents of Arab nationalism. In September 1969, while Idris was at a Turkish spa for medical treatment, the army, led by Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi, overthrew the government. Idris went first to Greece and then was given political asylum in Egypt. In 1974 he was tried in absentia on charges of corruption and found guilty. He remained in exile in Cairo until his death.