1969 Libyan revolution

1969 Libyan revolution
Part of the Arab Cold War

Gaddafi at an Arab summit in Libya, shortly after the September Revolution that toppled King Idris. Gaddafi sits in military uniform in the middle, surrounded by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser (left) and Syrian President Nureddin al-Atassi (right)
Date1 September 1969
Location
Result

Free Officers victory

Belligerents

Kingdom of Libya

Free Officers Movement
Commanders and leaders
Idris I
Abdel Aziz El Shalhi
Omar Ibrahim El Shalhi[1]
Hasan as-Senussi
Wanis al-Qaddafi
Abdul-Aziz Shennib
Muammar Gaddafi
Abdessalam Jalloud
Umar Muhayshi
Khweldi Hameidi
Bashir Saghir Hawadi
Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr
Mustafa Kharoubi
Abdel Moneim al-Houni
Mohammed Najm
Abdel Fatah Younis
Khalifa Haftar
Omar El-Hariri
Awad Ali Hamza[2]
Mukhtar Abdullah al-Qarawi[3]
Sayyid Gaddaf al-Dam
Strength
Unknown 70
Casualties and losses
CYDEF: 1 killed, 15 wounded[4] 0

The 1969 Libyan revolution, also known as the al-Fateh Revolution or 1 September Revolution, was a coup d'état and revolution carried out by the Free Officers Movement, a group of Arab nationalist and Nasserist officers in the Libyan Army, which overthrew the Senussi monarchy of King Idris I and resulted in the formation of the Libyan Arab Republic. The Free Officers Movement was led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

The government of Idris was increasingly unpopular by the late 1960s due to internal mismanagement, and the rise of Arab nationalist sentiment further weakened his regime. On 1 September 1969, while Idris was in Turkey, a group of Libyan Army officers under the leadership of Gaddafi launched a coup from Benghazi and quickly established control over the country. The coup was bloodless and received enthusiastic support from the public. Crown prince Hasan as-Senussi relinquished his claim to the throne, and Libya was declared a free and sovereign republic by the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). Gaddafi, in his capacity as RCC chairman, became the de facto head of state.

  1. ^ Little, Douglas (2013). "To the Shores of Tripoli: America, Qaddafi, and Libyan Revolution 1969–89". The International History Review. 35 (1): 70–99. doi:10.1080/07075332.2012.742448. ISSN 0707-5332. JSTOR 24701340. S2CID 154177382. Archived from the original on 2023-09-20. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  2. ^ "Libya Names 12 Members Of Revolutionary Counci". The New York Times. 1970-01-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  3. ^ Nyrop, Richard F.; Studies, American University (Washington, D. C. ) Foreign Area (1973). Area Handbook for Libya. U.S. Government Printing Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Cyrenaican Defence Force Archived October 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Leigh Ingram-Seal