Wanis al-Qaddafi ( ar, ونيس القذافي) (22 November 1922 – 1 December 1986) was a Libyan politician. He held many positions in the era of the Kingdom of Libya and was the tenth

Prime Minister of Libya This article lists the heads of government of Libya since the country's independence in 1951. Libya is in a tumultuous state since the start of the Arab Spring-related Libyan Crisis in 2011; the crisis resulted in the collapse of the Libyan ...

from 4 September 1968 to 31 August 1969, when his government was overthrown by Muammar Gaddafi (no relation).

Biography

Qaddafi was born in Benghazi,

Italian Cyrenaica Italian Cyrenaica (; ) was an Italian colony, located in present-day eastern Libya, that existed from 1911 to 1934. It was part of the territory conquered from the Ottoman Empire during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911, alongside Italian Tripolitani ...

, in 1922, into the distinguished

House of Shennib The House of Shennib ( ar, بيت شنيب ''Bayt Shennib'') is one of Libya's prominent families. The House of Shennib includes notable public figures who have played a significant part in 20th century Libyan history: heads of state, ministers ...

. During the Italian colonial period, an Italian lawyer trained him for a career in law. According to some accounts, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he fled with his family to Sudan, only returning to his country after it was occupied by the British. The young Qaddafi was taken up by the Allied Forces overseeing the administration of Benghazi and was the first Libyan to be recruited by the British for the political administration of

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

. Following the independence of Libya in 1951, he became a provincial minister in Cyrenaica, first of health, later of justice and transportation, and chaired Cyrenaica's Executive Council. A friend of

Idris of Libya Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi ( ar, إدريس, Idrīs; 13 March 1890 – 25 May 1983) was a Libyan political and religious leader who was King of Libya from 24 December 1951 until his overthrow on 1 September 1969. He ruled ov ...

, the post-war national leader, in 1962–1963 he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, then Interior Minister, and finally in September 1968 became the last Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Libya, replacing

Abdul Hamid al-Bakkoush Abdul Hamid al-Bakkoush ( ar, عبد الحميد البكوش) (10 August 1933 – 4 December 2007) was Prime Minister of Libya from 25 October 1967 to 4 September 1968. After the proclamation of the Jamahiriya by Gaddafi, he went into exile to ...

, whose reforms had alienated some conservative elements. On 17 November 1968, Qaddafi opened the fifth session of the Libyan National Assembly in Bayda and gave the annual prime minister's speech from the throne, emphasizing the themes of "stability, prosperity, and progress". Qaddafi was ousted from office by a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

against King Idris on 1 September 1969, and was sentenced by the

Libyan People's Court The Libyan People's Court is an emergency tribunal founded in Libya after the revolution of 1 September 1969. Although its initial purpose was to try the officials of the overthrown Kingdom, many others also were tried by this court. This article ...

to two years in prison.''A Political Chronology of Africa'' (Europa Publications, 2003), p. 242 He returned to private life after his release and died of a heart attack in December 1986, aged 64.

References

Prime Ministers of Libya 1922 births 1986 deaths Foreign ministers of Libya Interior ministers of Libya People from Benghazi Libyan politicians convicted of crimes {{Libya-politician-stub