Original from a private collection!
Condition as pictured! Buy as is!
This document is an authentic 46-page national passport issued by the United Kingdom of Libya (المملكة الليبية المتحدة) under the reign of King Idris I ас-Сенуси.
Passport Series & Number: No. 022085.
Issuing Authority: Issued at Tripoli on September 1, 1959, valid through August 31, 1964.
Physical Format: Hard bound in dark navy blue/black leatherette cloth with gold-gilt embossed national insignia depicting the royal crown of the Senussi monarchy within an ornate crest alongside the star and crescent, accompanied by bilingual Arabic and English typography.
Full Name: Mohammed Haj Hussein el-Abeidi (in Arabic script: محمد الحاج حسين العبيدي).
Official Occupation: Gov. Off. (Government Official / Royal Administrative Officer).
Birthplace & Date: Tocra (توكرة), Cyrenaica, born in 1924.
Domicile: Tripoli (administrative capital of the kingdom).
Physical Characteristics: Height: 184 cm; Eyes: Chestnut / Brown (Chest.); Hair: Black; Special peculiarities: None recorded.
Family / Travel Entourage: Traveled without wife or children; the designated accompanying family sections are officially cancelled in red ink with the standard administrative notation "ملغي" (Void / Cancelled). The bearer's original ink signature is preserved on page 4 beneath his portrait photograph.
Prominence of the Bearer: Mohammed Haj Hussein el-Abeidi was not an internationally headlining statesman (such as a prime minister or prominent cabinet head), but rather a member of the senior administrative and diplomatic apparatus of the royal Libyan bureaucracy. His senior civil-service ranking is evidenced by the "Gov. Off." designation, the immediate multi-country international travel clearance granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the allocation of official foreign exchange.
Tribal Background (Al-Abeidi / Al-Obeidat): The family name el-Abeidi denotes lineage from the prominent Al-Obeidat (العبيدات) confederation of the Sa'adi tribes in Cyrenaica (eastern Libya). Historically, the Al-Obeidat were among the strongest military and political pillars of the Senussi Order (Tariqa as-Senusiyya) dating back to the Grand Senussi in the 19th century and the anti-colonial resistance led by Omar al-Mukhtar. Following independence in 1951, King Idris I relied heavily on prominent aristocratic and tribal figures from Cyrenaica—especially Al-Obeidat dignitaries—to populate senior administrative posts in Tripoli and Benghazi.
Historical Context of the Senussi Dynasty: The United Kingdom of Libya was founded on December 24, 1951, under King Idris I (Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi), who ruled until he was overthrown in the September 1, 1969 coup led by Muammar Gaddafi. Passports from the late 1950s represent a pivotal transitional chapter: in 1959, the first major commercial oil reserves were struck at Zelten, transforming Libya from an impoverished desert kingdom dependent on British and American development subsidies into an oil-rich geopolitical player. Passports from this pre-Gaddafi monarchical era were systematically confiscated, defaced, or discarded after 1969, making intact survivors extraordinarily scarce today.
Geographical Travel Authorization: Validated for travel to All Arab Countries, Italia, U.K., France, Belgium, Spain, Holland, Germany, U.S.A., Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, Equatorial Africa, and N. Africa.
Italian Consular Visa (Page 8): Single-entry travel visa ("Visto semplice per viaggio") No. 722, granted by the Royal/National Italian Consulate General in Tripoli (Consolato Generale d'Italia - Tripoli) on September 3, 1959. It authorized entry up to December 9, 1959, with an authorized stay duration of 60 days ("sessanta giorni") from border entry.
Foreign Exchange Authorization (Page 9): National Bank of Libya official exchange control seal dated September 14, 1959, Permit No. B.F.A. 412500, allocating £L 23 (Libyan Pounds).
Chronological Travel Itinerary (in a single continuous line): September 1, 1959: Document officially issued at the Passport Directorate in Tripoli; September 3, 1959: Consular visa obtained from the Italian Consulate General in Tripoli; September 14, 1959: Official foreign travel currency drawn at the National Bank of Libya in Tripoli; September 16, 1959: Departure from Tripoli and arrival at Rome via entry border post (purple rectangular cachet: ROMA AEROP. INTERN. CIAMPINO / 16 SET. 1959 / 2 POLIZIA FRONTIERA); October 20, 1959: Exit departure from Italy through Rome Ciampino Airport (purple rectangular cachet: ROMA AEROP. INTERN. CIAMPINO / 20 OTT. 1959 / 1 POLIZIA FRONTIERA), completing an exact foreign stay of 34 days in Italy.
Fiscal Revenue Stamp (Page 8): An intact, crisp Italian consular fiscal revenue adhesive stamp (Marca Consolare - Repubblica Italiana), grey-blue intaglio printing, denomination 1,000 Lire.
Consular Seal (Page 8): Circular purple ink consular cachet CONSOLATO GENERALE D'ITALIA - TRIPOLI enclosing the Italian Republic star-and-cogwheel emblem, struck partly over the revenue stamp and partly over the paper stock.
Passport Department Seal: Circular blind-embossed and ink stamps of the Kingdom of Libya Passport Directorate covering the left lower corner of the bearer's photo on page 4 and the issuance block on page 1.
Transcription of Libyan Passport Officer Signature (Page 1): Signed under the title Director Visas and Passports; the Latinized cursive reads phonetically as "Andreeff" (or departmental registrar "Andr...") alongside the coordinating Arabic authorization script.
Transcription of Italian Consular Officer Signature (Page 8): Signed by the issuing consular attaché under Il Console Generale / Cancellieri; the cursive signature reads as "G. Morelli" (or "Moretti"), inscribed alongside the administrative fee exemption/code reference reading "Art. 17 T. C. / Esente L. Oro..." (Article 17 Consular Tariff / Gold Lira exemption).
Condition Grade: Very Fine+ (VF+). Structural binding remains tight and completely intact; cover gilding shows sharp, bright relief; pages are crisp with minimal handling wear; photographic portrait is sharp and securely affixed with clear official cancellation; stamps, handwritten entries, and cachets remain fully legible without fading or water ingress.
Rarity: High. Pre-1969 Kingdom of Libya passports are scarce historical artifacts due to the destruction and re-issuance campaigns undertaken during the Gaddafi revolutionary era. Official passports showing Western diplomatic/consular visas from the late 1950s are particularly sought-after by ephemera and North African postal history collectors.
Estimated Market Value: Conservatively appraised at $1500.00 – $2000.00 USD
According to expert estimates, there are only about three to five such surviving documents known to exist in private collections, specifically from this monarchical era. Passports of the United Kingdom of Libya under King Idris I (1951–1969) are exceptionally scarce, as the vast majority were systematically recalled, confiscated, and destroyed by the regime following Muammar Gaddafi's military coup on September 1, 1969. An intact official passport belonging to a royal government official with Western consular visas and intact fiscal revenue stamps represents an extreme historical rarity..
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