Sir Omar Faiek Shennib (Omar Fayek Shennib, Omar Shannib, Omar Shannaib) () was Libyan Minister of Defence, Chief of the Royal Diwan, and the Vice President of the Libyan National Assembly under the reign of King Idris Al Senussi. Shennib was the patriarch of the House of Shennib, a notable Libyan family. Omar Faiek Shennib Avenue in Derna was named after him posthumously.

Career

1941 Cyrenaican Delegation to the UN

Shennib served as President of the Cyrenaican delegation to the United Nations in the post-war period and was instrumental in the creation of a unified Libyan state in the years following World War II. Together with Idris, Shennib was part of the 1941 delegation to the UN which put forth the case for the unification of the three traditional free-standing regions,

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

, and

Fezzan Fezzan ( , ; ; ; ) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise in ...

into the nation state of Libya. Following independence on 24 December 1951, he was appointed Chief of the Royal Diwans

Independence and Flag

Shennib is credited for the design of the

Flag of Libya The national flag of Libya () was originally introduced in 1951, following the creation of the Kingdom of Libya. It was designed by Omar Faiek Shennib and approved by King Idris Al Senussi who comprised the UN delegation representing the three ...

: this flag represented Libya from its independence until 1951 to 1969, and was re-adopted by the rebel movement during the 2011 Libyan Civil War. According to the memoirs of Adrian Pelt, UN commissioner for Libya (1949 to 1951), “during deliberations of the Libyan National Constitutional Convention, a paper drawing of a proposed national flag was presented to the convention by Omar Faiek Shennib (distinguished member of the delegation from Cyrenaica). The design was composed of three colors; red, black and green, with a white Crescent and Star centered in the middle black stripe. Mr. Shennib informed the delegates that this design had met the approval of His Highness Emir of Cyrenaica, King Idris Al Senussi (later to become King of Libya). The assembly subsequently approved that design.”.

National Assembly Vice President

Shennib served as one of the Vice Presidents of the Libyan National Assembly until his death in 1953, and was a signatory to the first Libyan Constitution of 1951.Chronology of International Events and Documents, Royal Institute of International Affairs. Vol. 7, No. 8 (5–18 April 1951), pp. 213-244

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shennib, Omar Faiek 1953 deaths Libyan diplomats Ministers of defence of Libya 1883 births People from Derna, Libya Flag designers Permanent representatives of Libya to the United Nations