Libya, 1969 — military coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 10 December 1969, corresponding to the failed counter-coup against Muammar Gaddafi mounted by Defense Minister Adam Said al-Hawwaz and Interior Minister Musa Ahmad, roughly three months after Gaddafi's Free Officers had overthrown King Idris on 1 September 1969. Hawwaz and Ahmad, both from the eastern Barqa region, had been given cabinet posts but were not members of the ruling Revolutionary Command Council, and they came into conflict with the new order. Their attempt to seize key positions in eastern Libya began on 7 December 1969; both leaders were captured the same day, and the government foiled the plot.
Nasser's Egypt reportedly assisted. The plot was publicly revealed on 10 December, when Libyan radio denounced the plotters as opportunists acting for imperialism trying to steal the revolution. A constitutional proclamation of 11 December declared the RCC the highest authority, and a cabinet reshuffle followed.
Hawwaz, Ahmad, and about 30 officers were imprisoned.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
62012101969- Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-620-1969-12-07-2
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Gaddafi survived his first coup attempt, consolidated power, and imprisoned the plotters.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Luttwak Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Libya_under_Muammar_Gaddafi#Coup_d.27.
New York Times
Chicago Daily Defender
Chicago Tribune
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →