Hussein Yousef Maziq (; 26 June 1918 – 12 May 2006) was a Libyan politician who was Prime Minister of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

from 20 March 1965 to 2 July 1967. He was one of the most important men in the Kingdom era of

Family background

Maziq was a descendant of the Haddouth family of the Barasa tribe living in

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 ...

. Haddouth, from whom the family bears its name, had been in 1822 already in charge of leading the Barasa. Instantly, his son Abubakr, assumed the leadership of Barasa. In 1844, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

appointed him a

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

over all the Harabi tribes (including Barasa and Ubaidat). He had involved in 1860 in the Barasa-Ubaidat War, but he had not survived to see its end. He moved to

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

and died there in 1870. His son Maziq inherited the leadership and management of the conflict until the combatants agreed to make peace in 1890. Maziq (Hussein's grandfather) remained the leader of the Barasa until his death in 1909. He had four sons: El Mabrouk (his political heir), Yousef (Hussein's father), Bushdeig, and Uroug, a folk-poet. As the Italians invaded Libya in 1911, El Mabrouk led the Barasa against them, as the leaders of other tribes did. He was killed in the battle of "Ain Bumansur" near Derna in 1912. Since he had no children, Yousef became the Barasa's leader.

Early life

Hussein Yousef Maziq was born in 1918 near Tacnis (120 km east of

). Because of Yousef's connection to the resistance leaders, Libya's Italian government arrested and expatriated him along with his wife, Mardiya, and the newly born Hussein to Cyrene, where Yousef stayed until his death in 1934. A long time before his death, Yousef has lost his sight, so the Barasa's leadership was transferred to his brother Bushdeig. In 1929, Bushdeig attended the Sidi Rhuma talks between the resistance leaders, headed by

Omar Mukhtar ʿUmar al-Mukhtār Muḥammad bin Farḥāt al-Manifī (; 20 August 1858 – 16 September 1931), called The Lion of the Desert, known among the colonial Italians as Matari of the Mnifa, was a Libyan revolutionary and Imam who led the native res ...

, and Libya's Italian government, headed by

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino ( , ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regim ...

. Hussein Mizaq, then 11, also was there, and, as he told more than once, met Mukhtar who knew his parents. Hussein studied in an Italian school in Cyrene for a while, but the Italian government prevented him from continuing his studies. In 1937, he was a supervisor at the

Via Balbia Via or VIA may refer to the following: Arts and entertainment * ''Via'' (Volumes album), 2011 * Via (Thalia Zedek album), 2013 * VIA (music), Soviet and Russian term for a music collective Businesses and organisations * Via Foundation, a Cz ...

road project, he was responsible of organizing the accounts describing the salaries and savings of Libyan workers. In 1940, Hussein Maziq was invited along with several famous men from

, to visit

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where they met

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. Fearing of being attacked by Allies' Navy, he wished to go back to

before the Italian involvement in war, and he reached Libya some two weeks before the Italian declaration of war on

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

on 10 June 1940. In 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Italians were expelled from

, and in 1944, emir Idris Senussi returned to it from exile, and approximately in 1946, he met Maziq for the first time and admired him. This was the beginning of Hussein's political career.

Governor

On 1 June 1949, emir Idris declared the "independence" of

. Although this independence could be considered nominal because of the high British influence, forming a new government was necessary. After a short-lived government under Omar Pasha El Kikhia,

Muhammad Sakizli Muhammad Sakizli () (1892–14 January 1976) was the Prime Minister of Cyrenaica from 18 March 1950 to 24 December 1951. He was later appointed the Prime Minister of Libya from 19 February to 12 April 1954. Personal life Sakizli was of Turkish ...

formed a new cabinet in 1950, and under him, 32-year-old Maziq became a minister for interior and education. After King

Idris I of Libya Idris (, Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi; 13 March 1890 – 25 May 1983) was King of Libya from 24 December 1951 until his ousting in the 1 September 1969 coup d'état. He ruled over the United Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1963 ...

declared its independence 24 December 1951, Sakizli's title changed to be "Governor" of

and remained in that post until May 1952, when Maziq was assigned to be the governor. During Maziq's governorship, one of the most critical events faced him is the murder of Ibrahim El Shalhi, King Idris's loyalist aide, on 5 October 1954, by a young grandson of Ahmed Sharif es Senussi (King Idris's cousin and father-in-law). The killer was trialed, then executed. But for the King, agitated by Busairi El Shalhi (the victim's son), this was not enough, he persecuted the killer's cousins. Maziq opposed this extension of punishment. However, this opposition didn't harm his relation with the King, but he disliked some close men to the King, Busairi was one of them, so he often disagreed with him, and this will lead eventually to Maziq's resignation on 15 October 1961. Thereafter, Maziq headed no political posts until January 1964, when he became a foreign minister in Mahmud al-Muntasir's cabinet. At that time, troubles were not very far. On 22 February 1964, President Gamal Abdul Nasser of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

made a speech in his country saying that:" … he foreign militarybases existing in

…are a danger to the whole

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

nation." This speech, accompanied with anti-Libyan propaganda in the Egyptian media, agitated the Libyan people, so al-Muntasir decided to commence the negotiations of evacuation with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and Maziq was assigned to run the negotiations. Unexpectedly, when Maziq was attending an

summit in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

the same year, President Nasser told him, after an American pressure on Nasser, not to be in a rush to eject the American forces from

. This meant actually suspension of the evacuation's negotiations. Maziq told the story of this meeting while defending himself at 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 ...

in 1970.

Prime Ministership

On 20 March 1965, al-Muntasir resigned for health reasons. Maziq was assigned now to form the government. He continued executing the five-year plan for development (1963–1968) as the two former governments did. But he still dislikes some men around the King. Although Busairi El Shalhi had already died in a car accident in 1964, another man is still there, named Abdullah Abid es Senussi. Maziq sent to King Idris a report about Abdullah Abid's financial violations. Unfortunately, troubles came again. After the defeat of the Arab countries at the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

in June 1967, many Libyans, angry and depressed, attacked the U.S. and British embassies, and attacked bloodily the Jews in Libya, thus Maziq had to permit the Jews to leave the country. At last, King Idris asked him to resign, and so he did on 29 June.

Trial and death

For the rest of the Kingdom era, Maziq headed no posts. He was abroad when the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

of 1 September 1969 occurred. However, he returned and, like most officials from the Kingdom era, was placed on trial in the

and later imprisoned. In court he defended his relationship with King Idris. Maziq was sentenced to a ten-year prison sentence in 1971, but he was released in 1974. Maziq lived the rest of his life at his home in

. He died on 12 May 2006, aged 87.

References

*F. W. Beechey &H.W.Beechey,"…northern Coast of Africa from Tripoly Eastward…", Translated to

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

by Al Hadi Mutapha Bulegma, Garyounis University,

, 1996. *Mohammed Mustapha Bazama, "Tarikh Barqa fil Ahd al Othmani ath Thani", al Hewar,

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, 1994. *Francesco Rovere, "Cronistoria della Cirenaica 1551-1911", translated to Arabic by Ahmed Ibrahim El Mehdawi, Markaz Jihad al Libiyeen lid Dirasat at Tarikhiya,

, 2003. *George Remond, " Aux Camps Turco-Arabes: Notes de Route et de Guerre en Cyrenaique et en Tripolitaine", translated to

by Mohammed Abdul Karim el Wafi, Maktabat al Ferjani,

Tripoli, Libya Tripoli, historically known as Tripoli-of-the-West, is the capital city, capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.317 million people in 2021. It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point ...

, 1972. * Garyounis University, " The Martyr Omar al-Mukhtar Festival: Catalogue of Exhibition", Arabic-English version,

, 1979. *

Mustafa Ben Halim Mustafa Ahmed Ben Halim (; 29 January 1921 – 7 December 2021) was a Libyan politician and businessman who served in a number of leadership positions in the Kingdom of Libya from 1953 to 1960. Ben Halim was the Prime Minister of Libya from 12 ...

, "Safahat Matwiya men Tarikh Libia as Siyasi", Matabe' al-Ahram at Tejariya, Qalyub,

Misr Misr or MISR may refer to: * Misr, the romanized Arabic name for Egypt * misr, singular of Arabic ''amsar'', which were early Arabic "garrison towns" * Misr (domain name), a top-level Internet domain name * Misr, a variant of the AKM assault ri ...

, 1992. *

Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf Mohammed Yousef el-Magariaf (also written as Magariaf, Elmegaryaf or Almegaryaf) or, as he writes on his official website, Dr. Mohamed Yusuf Al Magariaf (; born 9 May 1940), is a Libyan politician who served as the President of the General Nationa ...

, "Libia bain al Madi wal Hadir: Safahat men at Tarikh as Siyasi", 4 vols., Markaz ad Dirasat al Libiya,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, & Maktabat Wahba 14 al-Gomhuriya street

, 2004–2006. *Mustapha Ben Halim, "Libia : Inbe'ath Omma.. wa Soqout Dawla", Manshurat al Jamal,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 2003. *

Patrick Seale Patrick Abram Seale (7 May 1930 – 11 April 2014) was a British journalist and author who specialised in the Middle East. A former correspondent for ''The Observer'', he interviewed many Middle Eastern leaders and personalities. Seale was a ...

, & Maureen McConvillle, "The Hilton Assignment", Praeger Publishers,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 1973. *The Libyan Attorney-General, "Haqiqat Idris", Manshurat al-Fateh 3. al Juz' ath Thani,1976. *Al-Ra'ed Newspaper, 1 October 1971, No. 1289, Tripoli, Libya. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maziq, Hussein 1918 births 2006 deaths Prime ministers of Libya Ministers of foreign affairs of Libya Libyan prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Libya Libyan politicians convicted of crimes People from Marj District