1970 expulsion of Italians from Libya
The expulsion of Italians from Libya took place following 21 July 1970, when the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) issued a special law to "regain wealth stolen from the Libyan people by Italian oppressors", as stated by Muammar Gaddafi in a speech a few days later. With this law, Italians who had long lived in Libya were required to leave the country by October 1970. Background On 1 September 1969, while King Idris of Libya was in Turkey for medical treatment, he was deposed in a coup d'état by a group of Libyan army officers under the leadership of Captain (later Colonel) Muammar Gaddafi. The Kingdom of Libya was abolished and the Libyan Arab Republic proclaimed. The coup pre-empted Idris' abdication and the succession of his heir, Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi, the following day. Over the next few months, Libyan policy towards foreigners changed drastically. The revolutionary council approved a new constitution, which described Libya as Arab, free, and democratic. In the name of Arab nationalism the new government nationalized most oil holdings, seized Italian possessions, closed U.S. and British military bases (including the American Wheelus Air Base, renamed "Oqba ibn Nafi" after the first Arab-Muslim conqueror of North Africa.