Idris bin Abdullah al-Senussi

For the last king of Libya, see Idris of Libya.

Prince Idris al-Senussi
Prince (Sayyid) of Libya
Born	(1957-01-18) 18 January 1957 Benghazi, Kingdom of Libya
Spouse	Cindy Lea Heles ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 1986)​ Princess Ana María Quiñones Fernández ​ ​ (m. 1987)​
Issue	Princess Alia al-Senussi Prince Khaled al-Senussi
House	Senussi
Father	Sayyid Prince Abdullah al-Abid al-Senussi
Mother	Princess Ghalia bint Nur Saleh

Prince Idris bin Abdullah al-Senussi (born January 18, 1957) is a Libyan-Italian businessman and a pretender to the Libyan throne. His claim to leadership of the Senussi family was ruled out by a British court in 1995, but Senussi has continued to claim the title of Prince and advances a claim right to the Libyan throne.

Early life

Idris al-Senussi was born in Benghazi, the third son of Sayyid Abdullah al-Abid al-Senussi (1919–88) and his second wife, Princess Ghalia bint Nur Saleh. Idris was twelve years old when, on 1 September 1969, the monarchy in Libya was overthrown by Muammar Gaddafi. At the time of the coup, Idris was at school in England with his brothers. They found out about the end of the monarchy after a phone call from their father.[1] Idris attended the Brummana High School in Lebanon,[citation needed] and then St. Stephen's International School, Rome. He later attended several private executive and leadership courses.

Exile

In 1991, the New York Times published an article stating that al-Senussi would take control of a 400-man strong dissident Libyan paramilitary force that had received training from American Intelligence, to fight against injustice in Libya.

Pretender to the Throne

Libya’s 1951 Constitution established a hereditary monarchy based on descent from King Idris, the first King of Libya. Article 44 of the 1951 Constitution states: sovereignty shall be vested by the nation in trust with the King Mohammed Idris el Mahdi el Senussi and after him to his male heirs, the oldest after the oldest, degree after degree.[10]

Article 45 of the 1951 Constitution states: the Throne of the Kingdom is hereditary in accordance with the two Royal Orders promulgated on 22nd of Safar 1374 H., and the 25th of Rabi'e el-Thani 1376 H., respectively. Each of these two Orders regulating the succession to the Throne shall have the same forces as an article of this Constitution.

Idris did not have any sons, and as a result, appointed his brother, Muhammad Rida Al-Mehdi al-Senussi as Crown Prince. After the Crown Prince's death in 1955, Idris appointed his nephew, Hasan as-Senussi, as Crown Prince on November 25, 1956, through a Royal Decree, an act granting him the prerogative to choose his successor.[11]

Section 2 of the Decree states:

If the King were to die without a male Heir his wife not being pregnant, or if she were pregnant but the pregnancy was not to result in an Heir to the Throne, then the Crown would be retained by His Royal Highness Prince Al-Hassan Al-Rida who would become the origin of future successions to continue through His line according to the rulings of our Order to reorganise the Royal Household issues on 20 October 1954.[12] On August 4, 1969, King Idris announced his planned abdication in favor of the Crown Prince (to take effect September 2, 1969) writing that "Now I hand it over to the forty-three-year-old Crown Prince el-Sayyid el-Hasan el-Rida el-Mehdi el-Senoussi, who is to be regarded from today as King el-Hasan el-Rida el-Mehdi el-Senoussi."[13] The 1969 coup d'état was carried out shortly after on September 1. Hasan remained under effective house arrest in Libya until 1988, when he went into exile in the United Kingdom for medical reasons. He relinquished his claim to his son, Mohammad al-Rida al-Senussi, upon his death. The majority of Libyan monarchists, and the most prominent Libyan monarchist organizations– the Libyan Constitutional Union and the Movement for the Return of Constitutional Legitimacy– support the claim of Mohammad al-Rida al-Senussi, a distant cousin of Idris, to the leadership of the House of Senussi.[16] Senussi’s hope to be Crown Prince was described by a British court in 1995 as “a case of hope exceeding expectation.”

In the early 1990s, Idris lobbied to convince the British government to recognize him as the legitimate heir to the King of Libya. Forty-one MPs signed an Early Day Motion describing him as a "great nephew of the late King Idris of Libya and heir presumptive of the Libyan throne." This claim was taken to court in July 1995 by his distant cousin, Mohammad al-Rida al-Senussi, who won the case.

Asked to provide testimony in the case, Debretts’ repudiated his claim to the leadership of the house, calling Idris the “second son of the sixth son of the younger brother of King Idris's father.” The Court concluded that:

“Mr. al-Senussi wishes people to believe he is the heir presumptive to the Libyan throne. Since Libya has been a republic since 1969 and the clear evidence in this case says that crown prince Muhammad, son of the last Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Libya, has a stronger case, it is therefore a case of hope exceeding expectation.”

In March 2011, when asked if he was the rightful heir, Prince Idris said a “family council” would decide who would be king, not an heir.[7][8] In December 2011, the Telegraph wrote that “The Senussi family tree shows that [Idris] is only distantly related to King Idris, the last monarch of Libya who died in 1983.”

Leadership

In the early 1990s, Idris lobbied to convince the British government to recognize him as the legitimate heir to the King of Libya. Forty-one MPs signed a motion that described him as a "great nephew of the late King Idris of Libya and heir presumptive of the Libyan throne."

During the 2011 Libyan civil war, al-Senussi announced he was "ready to return to Libya". On 21 February 2011 he made an appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight to discuss the uprising. In March 2011 it was reported Prince Idris had held meetings at the State Department and Congress in Washington with US government officials to work towards peace and leadership issues in Libya. It was also reported attempts at contact had been initiated by French and Saudi officials over peace and leadership issues. In March 2011, when asked if he was the rightful heir, Prince Idris said a family council would decide who would be king, not an heir, and that his father had passed on to him the task of maintaining the legitimacy of the monarchy and the unity of Libya.

It was reported in December 2011 that Idris had flown to Tripoli from Italy and spent his first day looking around the former Royal Palace of Tripoli, which he described as "the greatest joy of my life, apart from the birth of my children".

Business life

Prince Idris has served as a Director of Washington Investment Partners and China Sciences Conservational Power Ltd.[citation needed] He has also been involved in the railways' development, port development, power plants, real estate projects, and oil and gas industry,[10] having in the past worked for Condotte, Ansaldo Energia, Eni, and its subsidiary Snamprogetti.[1]

Marriages and issue

Idris has been married twice.

He first married Cindy Lea Heles (born 29 November 1956) on 30 January 1982. Together, they have one daughter before their divorce in 1986: Alia al-Senussi (born 20 February 1983), an intellectual and a leading principal figure in the art world.

He married his current wife, Spanish aristocrat Ana María Quiñones Fernández (born 1958) on 23 March 1987, now known as Princess Ana María al-Senussi. Together, they have one son: Khaled bin Sayyid Idris al-Senussi (born 23 February 1988), a defense, security and business advisory expert.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Idris bin Abdullah al-Senussi

16. Sayyid Muhammad bin Ali al-Sanussi al-Khattabi al-Mujahiri al-Idrisi al-Hasani, 1st Grand Sanussi 8. Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Sanussi 17. Fatima bint Ahmad bin Farajallah al-Fituri 4. Sayyid Muhammad al-Abid Pasha bin Sayyid Muhammad as-Sharif al-Sanussi 18. Umar bin Muhammad al-Ashhab 9. Fatima bint Umar bin Muhammad al-Ashhab 2. Sayyid Abdullah bin Sayyid Muhammad al-Abid al-Sanussi 5. Umm Bashayir 1. Idris al-Senussi 6. Nur Saleh 3. Ghalia bint Nur Saleh

External links

• Idris al-Senussi interviewed on CNN