Gaddafi was born in 1943 to a nomadic bedouin peasant family that lived in the desert around Sirte. While in a military academy he and a few of his fellow militants organized a secretive group dedicated to overthrowing the pro-Western Libyan monarchy. After he graduated in 1965, he was sent to Britain for further training. On 1 September 1969 Colonel Gaddafi and other young officer conspirators staged a bloodless and unopposed coup d’etat in Tripoli against King Idris I who was out of the country on a visit to Turkey. By January 1970 his faction had received support from Egypt and Gaddafi assumed power and named the country the Libyan Arab Republic.
Gaddafi politics were a blend of Arab nationalism and social welfare state. He described this as “direct, popular democracy” and named it “Islamic socialism.” Gaddafi is not above using violence and repressive tactics when and if his regime is threatened. He has called for political assassination as a tool and has sent agents to carry out his wishes. He is also a fervent supporter of unity of all Arab states into a single Arab nation.
He was widely regarded in the West as the principal financier of international terrorism.When Ronald Reagan came to power his administration saw Libya as an unacceptable player on the international stage because of support for such terrorist activities. At first it imposed economic sanctions but in January and March 1986 this flared into open conflict. The U.S. attacked Libyan patrol boats during clashes over access to the Gulf of Sidra; Libya claimed this as territorial waters the Americans did not accept this. On April 14th, 1986 President Reagan ordered major bombing raids, which killed sixty; amongst the victims was Gaddafi’s adopted daughter.
During the 1990s Libya endured economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation as a result of Gaddafi's refusal to hand over two Libyans accused of planting a bomb on a flight. In the late 1990s, however, Qaddafi turned over the alleged perpetrators of the bombing to international authorities. UN sanctions against Libya were subsequently lifted in 2003.
Mohammad "Idris I" al-Sanousi
King Idris was born on March 12th, 1889 in Al-Jaghbub, Libya. He became Chief of the Senussi order in 1916 following the abdication of his cousin and was recognized by the British under the new title Emir of the territory of Cyrenaica, a position also confirmed by the Italians in 1920. Idris spent the early part of his career attempting to negotiate independence for Cyrenaica. In 1922, following the Italian military campaigns against Libya, he went into exile to Egypt.
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. 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.
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 December 24th, 1951.
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 August 4th, 1969, Idris signed an Instrument of Abdication in favour of Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi, to take effect on September 2nd that year.
On September 1st 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 al-Gaddafi. The monarchy was abolished and a republic proclaimed. The coup pre-empted Idris' abdication and the succession of his heir the following day. From Turkey he and his wife sailed to Egypt to go into exile.
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, and was buried at Jannat al-Baqi, Medina, Saudi Arabia.
BY KYRA DAVIS
