This Day in African History — Libya Declared Independent

After the North African campaign of World War II Britain had assured the local Sanusi population that they would be free from Italian rule. Four years of negotiation resulted in a UN resolution that Libya should become an independent kingdom, uniting the regions of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fezzan by 1 January 1952. On 24 December 1951 King Idris I declared Libya independent. This was an autocratic rule - no political parties were permitted and Idris assumed complete control.

The discovery of oil in 1959 changed the nature of Libyan politics and lead to unrest. In 1969 Muammar al-Qaddafi led a military coup against Idris, creating a Libyan republic.

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