His full name was Sidi Muhammad Idris Al-Mahdi As-sanusi (1889-1983). The first and only king of Libya, he reigned as Idris I from 1950 to 1969. Although he led his country to independence, his conservatism finally brought about his overthrow in a military coup under the direction of the controversial leader, Muammar al-Qaddafi.

Libya's future king was born on March 13, 1890, in Jaghbub, an oasis in the eastern province of Cyrenaica. At the time, Libya was part of the Ottoman Empire. Idris I died in exile in Cairo, Egypt, in 1983.

Leader in Exile

When his father died in 1902, Idris became head of the Sanusiyah, an Islamic mystical brotherhood. Still a minor, he did not assume active leadership until 1916. His main problem over the next few years was how to deal with the Italians, who had invaded Libya in 1922 in an effort to build a North African empire. Italy never established its...