# Anglo-Libyan Treaty (1953)

URL: https://allhistories.com/libya/timeline/1953-anglo-libyan-treaty
Location: Benghazi, Libya
Themes: main-event

Independent Libya was one of the poorest countries in the world, unable to balance its budget without foreign subsidy. Britain, which had administered Tripolitania and Cyrenaica and kept troops there, wanted to retain bases to protect its position in the Middle East, particularly as its presence in Egypt became increasingly contested. On 29 July 1953 Prime Minister Mahmud al-Muntasir signed a Treaty of Friendship and Alliance with Britain for twenty years. Britain was granted the right to maintain military forces and facilities in Libya, including airfields at El Adem near Tobruk and installations in Benghazi and Tripoli. In return Britain undertook to support Libya's defence and to pay an annual subsidy, initially £1 million in budgetary aid and £2.75 million for economic development, for the first five years, a large share of the state's income. The treaty secured the monarchy's finances and its alliance with the West, but it was unpopular with Arab nationalists, who regarded the bases as a continuation of occupation. Criticism intensified after the Suez Crisis of 1956, when Libya refused to allow the bases to be used against Egypt. The British forces left in 1970 after the revolution. At this point in the timeline (29 July 1953), the King of Libya was Idris I (24 December 1951 – 1 September 1969). Government: the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Libya was Mahmud al-Muntasir (24 December 1951 – 19 February 1954).

## Why it matters
The treaty tied the monarchy's survival to Britain and made foreign bases a central issue in Libyan politics.

Ruler at the Time: [Idris I](https://allhistories.com/libya/rulers/idris-i)

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Libya: Mahmud al-Muntasir (Independent)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Mahmud al-Muntasir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmud_al-Muntasir)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Libya Britain treaty 1953](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Libya+Britain+treaty+1953)
- [Wikipedia — Kingdom of Libya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Libya)