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)
Date	1 September 1969
Location	Libya
Result	Free Officers victory Overthrow and abolition of the Monarchy; Establishment of Libyan Arab Republic; Start of Muammar Gaddafi's rule;
Belligerents
Kingdom of Libya Cyrenaican Defence Force (CYDEF);	Free Officers Movement
Commanders and leaders
Idris I; Abdel Aziz El Shalhi; Omar Ibrahim El Shalhi; 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; Mukhtar Abdullah al-Qarawi; Sayyid Gaddaf al-Dam
Strength
Unknown	70
Casualties and losses
CYDEF: 1 killed, 15 wounded	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.

^ 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.
^ "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.
^ 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)
^ Cyrenaican Defence Force Archived October 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Leigh Ingram-Seal

[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

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