Editing Libya (section)

=== Independent Kingdom (1951–1969) ===
{{main|Kingdom of Libya|}}
[[File:IdrisI3.jpg|thumb|[[King Idris]] of Libya|223x223px]]
A national assembly crafted a constitution that established a [[monarchy]] and extended an offer for the throne to [[Idris of Libya|Sayyid Idris]], the [[Emir of Cyrenaica]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=The Kingdom of Libya is Established |work=History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/kingdom-libya-established |access-date=2024-07-05}}</ref> Sayyid Idris held the esteemed position as the leader of the influential [[Senusiyya|Senussi religious brotherhood]], which was founded by his grandfather in the preceding century as a response to Western influence in the [[Arab world]].<ref name=":5" /> This devout Islamic movement garnered significant support from the [[Bedouin|desert Bedouin]] and became a major political force in Libya. During the declining years of the [[Ottoman Empire]], it effectively governed the Libyan interior.<ref name=":5" />
Born in an oasis in [[Cyrenaica]] in 1890, Sayyid Idris assumed leadership of the Senussi at a young age. He spent a considerable period of exile in [[Egypt]] under Italian rule and returned to Libya after the [[Axis powers]] were ousted in 1943.<ref name=":5" /> On December 24, 1951, as King Idris I, he addressed the nation via radio from [[Benghazi]].<ref name=":5" /> On November 21, 1949, the [[United Nations General Assembly|UN General Assembly]] passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=2021-03-15 |title=Libya country profile |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13754897 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506173721/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13754897 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |access-date=2021-03-15 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Idris represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. By December 24, 1951, Libya declared its independence as the [[United Kingdom of Libya]], a constitutional and hereditary [[monarchy]] under King [[Idris I of Libya|Idris]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Schiller |first=Jon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQ-VAkIdiX0C&pg=PA161 |title=Internet View of the Arabic World |date=29 November 2009 |publisher=CreateSpace |isbn=9781439263266 |page=161 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320153024/https://books.google.com/books?id=HQ-VAkIdiX0C&pg=PA161 |archive-date=20 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

However, the new kingdom faced challenging prospects.<ref name=":5" /> It lacked significant industry and agricultural resources.<ref name=":5" /> The kingdom's primary exports consisted of hides, wool, horses, and ostrich feathers.<ref name=":5" /> Despite having one of the lowest income per capita figures globally, it also suffered from one of the highest illiteracy rates.<ref name=":5" /> King Idris I, already in his sixties, had no direct heir to succeed him.<ref name=":5" /> His cousin, whom he had married in 1932, reportedly experienced numerous miscarriages, and their son, born in 1953, tragically died shortly after birth.<ref name=":5" /> Crown Prince Rida, Idris's brother, was the designated heir, but the royal family was riddled with incessant disputes.<ref name=":5" /> King Idris's devout Muslim piety, which solidified his support among the [[Bedouin|Bedouin population]], clashed with the modernizing and urban intellectual currents in Libya.<ref name=":5" /> To address the rivalry between Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, Benghazi and Tripoli alternated as the capital every two years.

The swift emergence of a large number of bureaucrats resulted in a costly royal government.<ref name=":5" /> The discovery of significant [[oil reserves]] in 1959 and the subsequent income from [[petroleum]] sales enabled one of the world's poorest nations to establish an extremely wealthy state.<ref name=":4" /> Although oil drastically improved the Libyan government's finances, popular resentment began to build over the increased concentration of the nation's wealth in the hands of King Idris and the national elite.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> This discontent continued to mount with the rise of [[Nasserism]] and [[Arab nationalism]] throughout North Africa and the [[Middle East]], that inspire many anti-royal coups across the Arab world.<ref name=":4" />