in full Sīdī Muḥammad Idrīs al-Mahdī al-Sanūsī
born March 13, 1890, Jarabub, Cyrenaica, Libya
died May 25, 1983, Cairo, Egypt
King of Libya (1951–69).
He succeeded his father in 1902 as leader of Cyrenaica but did not rule in his own name until 1916. Negotiations with Italy, which held the Libyan coast, resulted in agreements that confirmed Idrīs's authority (1917) and established a parliament (1919). His refusal to disarm his tribal supporters, however, led to Italy's invasion of Tripolitania in 1922, and Idrīs went into exile until after World War II (1939–45). In 1949 Cyrenaica and the other two Libyan provinces united under a constitutional monarchy headed by Idrīs. Independence was declared in 1951. He was overthrown by Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi in a military coup in 1969.