Kingdom of Libya
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المملكة الليبية (Arabic) ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ (Tamazight) Regno di Libia (Italian) |
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al-Mamlaka al-Lībiyya (Arabic) Tageldit n Libya (Tamazight) |
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| Kingdom of Libya | |||||
| 1951-1969 | |||||
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| Official language | Arabic , Tamazight , Italian | ||||
| Capital | Tripoli and Benghazi | ||||
| Form of government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||
| Head of state |
King Idris (1951–1969) |
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| Head of government | Prime Minister List of Prime Ministers |
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| surface | 1,759,530 km² | ||||
| population | 1,091,830 | ||||
| Population density | 0.6 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| currency | Libyan pound | ||||
| founding | 1951 | ||||
| resolution | 1969 | ||||
| National anthem | Libya, Libya, Libya | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +2 | ||||
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The Kingdom of Libya ( Arabic المملكة الليبية al-Mamlaka al-Lībiyya , DMG al-mamlaka al-Lībīya ; Central Atlas Tamazight ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ Tageldit n Libya ; Italian Regno di Libia ) was a state in North Africa on the territory of today's Libya . The kingdom was founded on December 24, 1951 with Idris as king. Until the constitutional amendment of April 25, 1963, the name United Kingdom of Libya ( Arabic المملكة الليبية المتحدة al-Mamlaka al-Lībiyya al-Muttahida , DMG al-mamlaka al-Lībīya al-Muttaḥida ; Italian Regno Unito di Libia ). On September 1, 1969, the Kingdom of Libya wasabolished ina coup led by Muammar al-Gaddafi that proclaimed the Libyan Arab Republic .
history
prehistory
After the defeat of Italy in World War II , the administration of Italian Libya was handed over by the United Nations to France ( Fessan ) and the United Kingdom ( Cyrenaica and Tripolitania ). On November 21, 1949, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution requiring Libya to become independent before 1952, and on December 24, 1951, the country was declared a constitutional monarchy with the United Kingdom-installed King Idris of the Sanusiya dynasty.
October Constitution
According to the constitution of October 7, 1951, Libya was a federal monarchy with King Idris as head of state, whose designated successor should come from his family. The main political power rested with the king. The executive branch of the government consisted of a Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, who were appointed by the King and were also responsible to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the bicameral system. The Senate, also known as the House of Lords, consisted of eight representatives from each of the three provinces. Half of the senators were appointed by the king, who also had the veto right on legislative initiatives and was able to dissolve the lower house. The local autonomy of the three provinces was exercised by the respective governments and parliaments. Benghazi and Tripoli alternately served as the country's capital. At the time, the kingdom was a federation of the three historical autonomous regions of Fezzan, Cyrenaica and Tripolitania and called itself the United Kingdom of Libya .
Inner development
After the first parliamentary elections on February 19, 1952, the political parties were abolished. The National Congress Party, which had fought against a federal form of government, was banned and Bashir es Sadawi was banished.
For the provinces, their own affairs were more important than national cooperation, with the federal and state governments often at odds over their respective powers.
To settle the question of the succession to the throne, Idris appointed his 60-year-old brother as his successor in 1953. When he died, the king appointed his nephew Prince Hasan Rida as his successor.
Foreign policy
In foreign policy, Libya adopted a pro-Western stance and sought to avoid border conflicts with neighboring countries. Initially, the country oriented itself towards its powerful neighbor Egypt under King Faruq , who provided development aid. On March 28, 1953, two years after independence, Libya became a member of the Arab League .
In the same year, Libya signed a 20-year alliance and friendship treaty with the United Kingdom, which was allowed to build military bases in return for financial and military support. In 1954, Libya signed a similar treaty with the United States , which allowed them to set up military bases in return for their economic aid. The most important of the US military bases was the strategically important Wheelus Air Base near Tripoli, which was used in the 1950s and 1960s. Restricted areas were set up in the Sahara and used as a training area by British and US military aircraft based in Europe.
Libya sought close relations with France , Italy , Greece and Turkey , and in 1955 established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union , but turned down a Soviet offer of economic aid.
As part of a support package , the UN Technical Assistance Board agreed to finance a technical assistance program for the development of agriculture and education. The University of Libya was founded in Benghazi in 1955 by royal decree. Foreign powers, notably the United Kingdom and the United States, provided development aid. Although economic improvement occurred, economic development was slow and Libya, a poor and underdeveloped country, remained dependent on foreign aid.
National development
This situation changed in June 1959 when Esso workers discovered rich oil deposits in Kyrenaica. This was followed by more discoveries in the country, which led to economic growth, with 50 percent of export profits going to the government. On the oil market, Libya's advantages lay not only in the quantity, but also in the high quality of the crude oil. Another advantage was Libya's proximity and direct connection to Europe by sea.
With the discovery and exploitation of oil reserves, the vast, sparsely populated and impoverished country became a prosperous nation with the potential for long-term economic recovery, making the oil discoveries a major turning point in Libya's history. Libya's Petroleum Act, which came into force in 1955, was amended in 1961 and 1965 to increase the proportion of revenue in favor of the Libyan government.
Since oil production continued into the early 1960s, Libya launched its first five-year plan from 1963 to 1968. However, a negative consequence of oil wealth has been a decline in agricultural production, which has been neglected. Domestic politics in the three provinces remained stable, but the federal government proved to be inefficient and cumbersome.
In April 1963, Prime Minister Muhi ad-Din Fikini secured the passage of a bill through parliament and the approval of the king, after which the federal government was abolished and a monarchist unitary state was created. The legislation abolished the historic provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan and replaced them with ten new provinces, each ruled by an appointed governor. The government changed the constitution in 1963, making the change from a federal to a central state.
International Relations
Libya did not have any border disputes with its neighboring states. Libya was one of the 30 founding members of the Organization for African Unity (OAU), which was established in Addis Ababa on May 25, 1963 , and in November 1964, Libya participated with Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia in forming an advisory committee on economic cooperation between the North African states. Although it supported Arab movements such as the Moroccan and Algerian independence movements, Libya hardly participated in the Middle East conflict or the pan-Arab movements of the 1950s and early 1960s.
Nevertheless, Arab nationalism , supported by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser , gained influence on the politics of Libya and the younger generation. In response to anti-Western protests in 1964, the basically pro-Western government of Libya called for the British and US military bases to be evacuated before the treaties ended. Most British forces were withdrawn in 1966, although the clearance of foreign military installations, including Wheelus Air Base, was not completed until March 1970.
The 1967 Six Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors sparked strong reactions in Libya, particularly in Tripoli and Benghazi, where dock workers and students participated in violent demonstrations. The British and United States embassies and oil company offices were damaged in the riot. The members of the small Jewish community were also attacked, as a result of which most of the Libyan Jews emigrated. However, after the government restored public order, attempts to modernize and reform the Libyan armed forces failed because of the inefficient Libyan bureaucracy and the conservative opposition.
Although Libya was one of the biggest supporters of the pan-Arab movement, the country did not play a significant role in Arab politics. At the Arab summit conference in Khartoum in September 1967, Libya, together with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, agreed to economically support the states of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, which had been defeated by Israel, through generous subsidies from oil revenues. At the conference, King Idris also proposed that collective action should increase the price of oil on the world market. Nevertheless, Libya relied on its close ties with the West, while taking a much more conservative course domestically.
Attempts at reform
After the formation of the unified Libyan state in 1963, Idris' government tried to invoke Libyan nationalism in order to strengthen popular support for the monarchy. But Idris himself came primarily from Cyrenaica and not from Tripolitania. His political interests lay essentially in Kyrenaica and he knew how to use his constitutional power for the benefit of his homeland, Kyrenaica, to which he was linked by his status as an emir. Idris' pro-Western sympathies and his identification with the conservative Arab bloc met with resistance, particularly from the increasingly politicized urban ruling class striving for a non-aligned Libya. Aware of the possibilities of their country through the natural wealth of raw materials, many Libyans knew that these advantages did not reach the population. Growing dissatisfaction among the population, together with corruption and the inefficient bureaucracy, led to an increased orientation towards Nasser's pan-Arab ideology, especially among the young officers of the armed forces.
Alienated from the most populous part of the country and from a younger generation of Libyans, Idris spent more and more time in his palace in Tobruk, near the British military base. In June 1969 the king left the country for rest and medical treatment in Greece and Turkey and appointed Crown Prince Hasan Rida as regent.
Putsch and end of the monarchy
Officers led by Muammar al-Gaddafi took advantage of this power gap to put a coup against the government and eliminate the monarchy when King Idris was in Turkey. The revolutionaries arrested the army chief of staff and the country's security chief.
In order to forestall the putschists, King Idris abdicated on August 4, 1969 in favor of the Crown Prince, who was crowned king on September 2, 1969 in exile in Turkey. After the abolition of the constitution and the monarchy on September 1, 1969, the Libyan Arab Republic was founded.
Idris I stayed with his nephew and Crown Prince Hasan Rida initially in Turkey, later went to Greece and then together with his wife Fatima into exile in Cairo in Egypt , where he died in 1983 at the age of 93. Hasan Rida, who was made Crown Prince on October 26, 1956, returned to Libya and was placed under house arrest. In 1992 he left for London with his son Muhammad Rida , where he died on April 28, 1992. Muhammad Rida is considered a legitimate ruler by the exiled Libyans who are loyal to the king. Queen Fatima died on October 3, 2009 in Cairo.
aftermath
2011 Civil War
Although the king and crown prince died in exile and most Libyans were born after the end of the monarchy, the Sanusiya dynasty's popularity increased during the 2011 uprising, particularly in the region of origin, Kyrenaica . Demonstrators use the old tricolor, show portraits of King Idris and play the then national anthem Libya, Libya, Libya . Idris al-Senussi , a pretender to the throne of the Sanusiya dynasty, announced his willingness to return to Libya after the end of the Gaddafi government. Mohammed al-Senussi , who also claims the throne, said on a possible return to Libya that the Sanusiya dynasty was in the service of the Libyan people. When asked about the restoration of the monarchy, he said that he was serving the Libyan people and that the Libyans would decide what they want. According to him, the National Transitional Council wants to revive the constitution of the Kingdom of Libya in its main features; instead of a king, however, the transitional council wants to have a presidential council .
government
The United Kingdom of Libya was organized as a constitutional hereditary monarchy in which legislative power lay with the king and parliament.
king
According to the constitution, the king was the head of state and had authority over the armed forces of the country. Before receiving constitutional powers, the king had to take an oath on the constitution before the Senate and the House of Representatives. All laws had to be signed by the king after they were passed by parliament. The King was also responsible for opening and closing parliamentary sessions and for ensuring that the House of Representatives upheld the Constitution.
Council of Ministers
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The king appointed and dismissed the prime minister and ministers on the advice of the prime minister. The Council of Ministers was responsible for the country's foreign and domestic policy and was accountable to the House of Representatives. As soon as a prime minister was removed from office, his duties were taken over by the Council of Ministers.
houses of Parliament
Parliament consisted of the Senate and the House of Representatives, each meeting at the same time.
The Senate was composed of 24 ministers appointed by the King. The ministerial posts were reserved for Libyans who were at least 40 years old. The King appointed the Senate President, while the Senate elected two Vice-Presidents, whom the King subsequently appointed to office. The Senate President and the two Vice Presidents were each appointed for two years. After the Senate President's term of office ended, the King could reappoint the incumbent for a term or another person, while the Vice Presidents could be re-elected by the Senate. The senators' term of office was eight years, which could not be extended afterwards, but a new term was possible later. As a rule, half of the senatorial posts were filled every four years.
Members of the House of Representatives were elected by universal suffrage following the April 25, 1963 constitutional amendment that gave women the right to vote. The number of MPs in the House was determined on the basis that there was one MP for every 20,000 citizens. Elections were held every four years after parliament was dissolved. The MPs were responsible for electing a chairman and two deputies.
administration
Provinces
After independence, the kingdom consisted of the three autonomous provinces of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fessan, which are the three historical regions, until 1963. Due to the autonomous provinces, the kingdom had two capitals with Tripoli and Benghazi.
| province | Capital | surface |
|---|---|---|
| Tripolitania | Tripoli | 353,000 km² |
| Cyrenaica | Benghazi | 855,370 km² |
| Fessan | Sabha | 551,170 km² |
Reorganization from 1963
After the constitutional amendment of 1963, the three provinces were dissolved and ten new provinces were established.
- Al-Baida, previously part of Kyrenaica
- Al Khums, previously part of Tripolitania
- Avbari, previously part of Fezzan
- Az Zawiyah, previously part of Tripolitania
- Benghazi, previously part of Kyrenaica
- Darnah, previously part of Cyrenaica
- Gharyan, previously part of Fezzan and Tripolitania
- Misratah, previously part of Tripolitania
- Sabhah, previously part of Fezzan
- Tarabulus, previously part of Tripolitania
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ LIBYA: Birth of a Nation. Time , December 31, 1951; accessed March 7, 2011 .
- ↑ Dirk J. Vandewalle (Ed.): A history of modern Libya . Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 2006, ISBN 978-0-521-85048-3 , pp. 59 .
- ^ Jacob Abadi: Pragmatism and Rhetoric in Libya's Policy Toward Israel . In: University of New Brunswick (Ed.): The Journal of Conflict Studies: Volume XX Number 1 Fall 2000 . 2000 ( online ).
- ^ Abdul-Qader Shareef: Neo-Tarzanism: Gaddafi's legendary petulance. Khaleej Times , December 10, 2006, accessed March 7, 2011 .
- ↑ 1969: Bloodless coup in Libya. British Broadcasting Corporation , accessed March 7, 2011 .
- ^ Anti-Gaddafist rally in London. (No longer available online.) Al-Ahram , archived from the original on February 26, 2011 ; accessed on March 7, 2011 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Building a new Libya - Around Benghazi, Muammar Qaddafi's enemies have triumphed. The Economist , February 24, 2011, accessed March 7, 2011 .
- ^ Libia, Principe Idris: Gheddafi assecondi popolo o il Paese finirà in fiamme . Adnkronos , February 16, 2011, accessed March 7, 2011 (Italian).
- ^ Libya's Prince Senussi Says Tribes Are United Against Qaddafi. Bloomberg Businessweek , February 25, 2011, accessed March 7, 2011 .
- ↑ Exiled Libyan Crown Prince says Kadhafi must step down. (No longer available online.) NewstimeAfrica, February 26, 2011, archived from the original on March 11, 2011 ; accessed on March 7, 2011 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Mohammed al-Senussi: The Prince of Libya. Handelsblatt , August 27, 2011, accessed on June 18, 2012 .
- ^ Henry Serrano Villard: Libya: the new Arab kingdom of North Africa . Ed .: Cornell University Press. Ithaca, New York 1956, pp. 26 .
- ^ A b Gwillim Law: Districts of Libya. December 8, 2010, accessed March 7, 2011 .
- ^ Modern history in politics. Libya Watanona, accessed June 18, 2012 (Arabic).
literature
- John Wright: A History of Libya . Columbia University Press, New York 2012, ISBN 978-0-231-70167-9 .
Web links
- Libya's Constitution. Libyan Constitutional Union, accessed March 7, 2011 .
- Libya. World Statesmen, 2000, accessed March 7, 2011 .
- Independent Libya. Library of Congress , accessed March 7, 2011 .
- Oil and Gas in Libya. MBendi, March 7, 2011, accessed March 7, 2011 .